Warriors of Ether
by Rarstarr
Summary: Returning home after a date at the Pigeon's Nest Restaurant and Bar, Serena and Darien encounter a group of monsters attacking people. Before the scouts arrive to help the pair find themselves caught by the monsters, and are saved by a new heroine.
1. Chapter 1

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 1

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

A white glowing mist rolled around the room, seeming to hide the walls, floor and ceiling. The only furniture in the room, a desk and the chair behind it, were also painted white. In the chair a handsome man sat, some would describe him as divinely handsome. Not surprisingly his robes were as white as the wings on his back and room around him. The only colour in the entire room was the man's skin and the golden locks on his head. He was Gabriel, lord of his people.

He sensed the presence of one of his subordinates awaiting him outside. With a wave of his hands the mists opposite him parted, revealing Athriel, one of his trusted lieutenants. She purposefully strode towards him.

"What news do you bring?" Gabriel demanded.

"My lord we have finally reopened the gateway to the middle realm," Athriel informed him. There was no excitement in her voice, despite the import of her message.

"At last our exile is at an end," Gabriel smiled, "and the mortals will once more feel our guidance."

*****

Darien walked in the door of the Pigeon's Nest. The Pigeon's Nest was a restaurant and bar, a place very popular among both the university students and the families in the local area. Darien came in here regularly to get dinner, but tonight he'd just stopped in for a quick drink.

Kerri, the girl on the front desk looked at him questioningly. He just shook his head in answer.

Kerri was English, but had moved to Tokyo with her family seven years ago, and even then she'd spoken perfect Japanese. She'd gotten a job waiting tables at the Nest, but had managed to get the job greeting customers in a short period. She was pretty, if you liked foreigners, and typically had a friendly word. She looked busy today, must be a big party.

Darien waved to her as he vanished into the bar. Now the bar wasn't some gaudy, noisy place with flashing lights where you needed. Katsuko, the bartender, would never stand for it, but then again neither would the Nest's owner.

The bar, tables and the walls were done in varnished mahogany, while the stools and the booth seats were down in soft red velvet. Instead of the usual bottles of drink, the wall behind the bar was graced with three glass cases.

In one case was the paraphernalia of numerous religions, all carefully marked. If you wanted Katsuko could tell the tale behind any of the items there. That was a joint project between Katsuko and Kerri's sister Dominique.

The second case had caused Darien many nights of mirth. He'd have to bring Serena and the others here sometime to see it. After all, it would do good to see the work of one of their fans. Mina would probably flip. The case contained some excellent picture of the Scouts, Tuxedo Mask and many of the villains they'd faced. An art student by the name of Namoyi had done all the work on that case.

Tonight the barroom was fairly full, although most of the people were sitting at the tables and booths. Katsuko stood behind the bar as usual, ruler of all she surveyed. She was tall, and had a reserved beauty, usually a friendly smile. Yet at times she had seen drunks quieted by her glare or both men and woman melted by a seductive look.

Darien glanced around the bar, looking for the other regulars. Dominique sat at the end of the bar, a pile of books arrayed before him. Every so often he'd make notes on a pad. Sitting halfway down were the oddest couple you could find. Tashiro was an old man who, as far as Darien could tell was a permanent fixture at the bar. He was currently involved in his favourite pastime, talking, with young Aki. Now Aki is a genius when it comes to electronics, and he was currently showing the old man some new gadget he had purchased. None of the other regulars were in tonight.

Darien sauntered over to the bar, taking the drink Katsuko offered him. Some kind of nonalcoholic fruit cocktail, exactly what he would have ordered. The regulars got used to that.

"So Darien, how's the hero business?" Katsuko inquired.

That question had almost stopped Darien's heart the first time she had asked it. It turned out that she and the other regulars had been discussing heroes and who would make a good one. They'd decided he was the most likely candidate out of them all, so Katsuko had started out with that joke.

"Quite at the moment, but then its been like that for a while," he returned.

Katsuko snorted. "That's true. No strange attacks, no one collapsing to the ground, no mass hallucinations threatening to blow up Tokyo. All up, a quiet year. Poor Namoyi, no Scout sightings either."

"Makes you wonder what they do in their spare time doesn't it?"

Katsuko laughed. "Probably go back to being normal girls if they're smart. Go to school, get boyfriends. Speaking of which, how's your girlfriend?" The look she gave him told him she wouldn't let him get away with his usual evasions.

"If I'm really unlucky she'll have left a few hundred messages on my answer phone." Katsuko raised her eyebrow. "She waiting for her exam results, and won't be happy that I wasn't in to talk to her about it."

"Then what are you doing here? Go home boy. Even now the love of your life may be waiting for you to call her. Go, go!" Katsuko held her face completely serious, but laughter danced in her eyes.

Darien laughed, then drained his drink. "Put it on my tab, will you?"

"Okay, but remember this month's is due next Thursday."

"Thanks for reminding me, I'll see you in a few days."

As soon as Darien was gone Katsuko waved her waitress Junko over. The redheaded ball of energy bounced over to the bar. "Yes Katsuko?"

"Junko, go ask Kerri at the desk to reserve a table for two all night tomorrow. Just tell her it's for any of my regulars who need it."

Junko nodded. "Yes, ma'am."

*****

Serena hadn't left any messages on Darien's answer phone that evening because she hadn't received her results. She had gone shopping to ease her tension.

Serena pushed open the door, pulling off her shoes. She was about to call out to her family when she spotted a letter on the hall table with her name on it. She grabbed the letter and tore it open.

Serena's mother and brother came out into the hall to investigate the loud thump. They found Serena sprawled out on the floor a piece of paper clutched in her hands.

Serena's mother checked her over, then pulled the paper from Serena's hands. Moments after reading it she joined her daughter in a faint.

Sammy rolled his eyes, then snatched up the letter. "Well, well, well, who'd have thought she'd actually do it?" he commented.

*****

Lita put down the phone, shaking her head. She got all of three steps before the phone rang again.

"Hello," she answered the phone.

"Lita?" came Amy's voice.

"Hi Amy, what's up?"

"Did you just get a call from Serena?"

"Yeah, amazing isn't it. I knew helping her study would pay off, but that much?"

Amy was silent for a while. "You helped her too?" she inquired quietly.

"Yes," Lita answered slowly.

Amy started giggling. "Poor Serena, getting it from all of us."

"Amy, what are you talking about?" Lita demanded.

"You helped her, I helped her and I found out a few days ago that Raye helped her too. Serena was getting it from all three of us. Oh, we were so mean to her." Amy couldn't help giggling at this point.

"Think Mina decided to study with her as well?" Lita asked.

Amy stopped laughing. "Nah!" they answered together.

*****

Darien grabbed the phone on its third ring. He raised the phone to his ear and was immediately blasted by Serena.

"I passed Darien, I passed!" she cried. "And you won't believe how well I did, mom fainted when she saw it, you'll be so proud of me!"

"Calm down, calm down. I'm proud of you. I guess all that studying did some good. Now you will remember to thank the others, won't you."

Serena's voice went quiet. "I already have, sorry about calling them first, but dad was about."

Darien remembered back to his last meeting with Serena's father. He could easily understand her caution. "That's okay honey, I understand. I tell you what, why don't I take you out for dinner to celebrate."

"Yeay," cried Serena. "I'll go ask my parents."

Darien sighed as he heard the phone being put down, but waited patiently. It wasn't long before Serena came back.

"They say its fine, as long as I'm back by ten o'clock."

"Okay, I'll try and get us some reservations. I'll call you back to arrange a time to pick you up."

"See ya!"

"Bye." Darien hung up.

*****

Kerri smiled as the pair entered through the front door. Darien was in one of his best suits, while Serena's white dress almost sparkled in its splendor. The only times they'd looked more regal were the times they had been Prince Darien and Princess Serena. Thankfully the only tiaras Serena owned were part of her Scout uniform.

"Good evening Darien," Kerri greeted him.

Darien smiled and returned the greeting.

"I'm afraid your table isn't ready yet," Kerri told them. "Would you mind waiting at the bar?"

Darien slowly shook his head. "Do you think I could get away with not visiting the bar tonight?"

Kerri gave a lilting laugh. "Not a chance."

Serena gave Darien a quizzical look as they walked away.

"I've been coming here regularly, for dinner or a drink on the way home since before I met you. They're a friendly bunch and familiar faces are always welcomed," he explained.

"You could have told me!" she explained.

Darien laughed as they stepped into the bar.

A chorus of "Darien" from the bar greeted them. Somehow word of Darien's date with Serena had gotten around and a number of the regulars had decided to turn up. Darien was taken aback by the greeting, giving the group time to take in the sight of the couple.

Darien laughed and guided Serena towards a pair of empty bar stools, conveniently situated in the very center of the bar. Serena sat nervous and the gaze of the six strangers.

"Come on boy, introductions, introductions," cried Tashiro.

Katsuko slammed a hand on the bar. "Introductions later. First, what are you two drinking?"

Darien looked down at Serena. "Orange juice?" he inquired. She just nodded.

"Too juices then," Katsuko vanished under the bar to reappear moments later holding a pair of glasses filled with orange juice. "Now then introductions, if for no other reasons than to settle your date down." Katsuko gave Serena one of her winning smiles. "Excuse us, but we're a noisy bunch and extracting information from Darien is like pulling teeth. Though I guess you've noticed that."

Serena, finally relaxing shot Darien a glare worthy of Raye. "Yes, I have."

"Hey introductions before we get sidetracked!" a burly man down the bar yelled. Many of the other patrons looked at him in disgust, he didn't notice.

"Okay," breathed Darien. "Serena, this bunch are most of the Pigeon's Nest's regulars. The black hared European at the end is Dominique. She spends most of her time in here studying, waiting for her sister who works reception." Dominique waved her hand then went back to reading a book. "The old man next to her is Tashiro."

"Old!" complained Tashiro. "I'm not old, just well aged. You and I should sit down sometime and swap stories about your boyfriend."

"But make sure you have a few hours to spare first," the boy sitting between Darien and Tashiro announced. "Old Tashiro has some great stories to tell, if you have the time. I'm Aki by the way." He smiled at her.

The burly man from the other end of the bar lent forward. "Hey Darien, I think Aki's after you're girl," he called. Serena and Aki both glared at him.

"The loud mouth at the end of the bar is Ichiro. He's in the martial arts team at the university, and somewhat the tease. Don't worry about him, he's harmless," Darien continued.

The tidy young man sitting next to Ichiro laughed. "You wouldn't say that if you'd seen him fight." He lent forward and turned to face Serena. "Hi, I'm Jiro, Ichiro's my twin, if you can believe that."

Darien smiled. "Jiro's planning to become a doctor like Amy. But don't ask me which has a better chance, I could tell."

The question "who's Amy?" came from various parts of the bar. Darien ignored it.

"The young lady beside you is Namoyi. She's a Sailor Scout fan, and did all of that," Darien pointed past the bar to the Sailor Scout shrine on the wall.

Serena's jaw dropped when she turned to look at the wall. She looked from the brunette sitting next to her to the wall and back.

"You did that?" Serena asked. "You drew the pictures?"

Namoyi nodded her head. "Every picture. Some of them I took from photos or drawings others had done, and a few come from descriptions, but the pictures are all mine."

"That's amazing."

Katsuko cleared her throat.

Darien smiled at her. "And of course, you must meet Katsuko, who keeps the bar and the peace at the Pigeon's Nest."

"Charmed." Katsuko bowed her head to Serena. "Darien you've forgotten to introduce someone," Katsuko pointed out in deadpan.

"Who?" Darien asked in exaggerated shock.

"Me, silly," Serena announced.

Darien laughed. "Everyone, this is Serena, my girlfriend."

There was a beep as Aki pushed the button on a stopwatch. He then passed it along to Dominique. Dominique looked at the pad in front of her, then the stopwatch and gave a sigh.

"So who won?" Tashiro demanded.

Dominique sighed again and pointed at Katsuko, who replied with a knowing smile.

"You all bet on how long it would take me to introduce her?" Darien asked incredulously.

"Just a friendly wager," Tashiro replied.

"Which Katsuko won, as usual," Namoyi added.

Darien laughed and everyone else joined in. After a few moments the laughter died down. A short while later the twins made their excuses and left and Aki's pager went off and he too disappeared. Tashiro spent a while trying to draw either Darien or Dominique into a conversation. Katsuko moved down the bar to fill some orders.

Serena looked at Darien. "Why haven't you ever told me about this place?" she demanded sweetly.

"I didn't think it's important," Darien replied.

Serena laughed. "Oh, you." Serena looked around the room. "Was that all the regulars?"

Darien laughed. "No, there are a few more, guess they didn't show up tonight."

"How did you become a regular?" she asked.

"As I said I stop by here most nights. The gang here drew me into their discussions, and shortly I was a regular."

Namoyi leaned forward. "The biggest indication of your acceptance is when Katsuko starts serving you your drinks before you order them and you think of it as a convenience," she whispered.

"I heard that," Katsuko declared from above them, causing all three to jump. "Darien, Serena, Kerri just called to say your table is ready."

*****

Only the red flames that danced across the floor lighted the cavern. Shadows flickered upon the wall. The fuelless fire barely lit the dark corners of the room and cast everything in the room in a red light.

The huge red skinned man behind the desk sat chin resting on hands and leathery wings extended. He had long ago been named Lucifer, and for millennia he and his people had been unable to carry out their duty with the mortals.

That changed only a few days ago, as mortals measured time, when the portal to the middle realm had been reopened. Unfortunately scouts had discovered a very different realm out there. Most of worlds no longer bore life, and earth was a place so alien to them that they could no longer act in secret.

Thankfully the humans no longer had the power to resist them. Tonight the first strike force would go through to the mortal world, to a place called Tokyo.

*****

Serena gave Darien a loving smile when he glanced away from the road towards her. He smiled back at her then returned his concentration to driving.

"I really enjoyed tonight. It was nice to meet some of your friends." Serena stretched out lazily. "Having dinner with you made it special though."

"I feel the same way," Darien told her.

"I'm so glad," Serena sighed.

Suddenly Darien jammed on the car's brakes, throwing Serena forward in her seat. Ahead of them they could see people scrambling out of a park and across the road in fear. Darien looked down at Serena.

"I think we should change and investigate, don't you?"

Serena sighed, but nodded. "I'll call the scouts once we're inside."

*****

Gort was a hulking brute of a devil. His black wings were still small, but at least he had wings, not like the pair of nothings he was in charge of. As yet no horns pointed from his brow, he was still not powerful enough for that honor. He was, however, powerful enough to introduce these puny normals to the wonders of their way of life.

The two devils Lucifer had sent along under Gort's command could have been mistaken for large humans, if it wasn't for the red skin. They were so weak that all they were useful for was scaring the cowering mortals.

Gort stalked over to the group his underlings had captured. Every so often one of the humans would slowly move away from the group, only to scurry back when one of the lesser devils lunged hissing.

It was time to get to work. Gort stalked over to the group and grabbed one, a female. The women screamed as she was thrown to the ground some distance away. Gort roared and thrust out his arms. A scarlet beam of light shot from his arms and struck the woman, enveloping her in a sphere of red energy.

The woman collapsed to the ground as a man burst from the crowd. "You bastard, what have you done to her?" the man demanded, striking

The man found himself being picked by the throat. "I freed her, as I will do with you if you don't force me to kill you first," Gort hissed into his face.

"Hey nega-scum, why don't you try bullying someone who can fight back," a strong feminine.

The large demon turned to find a girl clothed in a skimpy dress and a young man dressed in formal attire. Gort was not impressed.

"I am Sailor Moon. I fight for love and justice and in the name of Moon I'll punish you," Sailor Moon declared.

She was deflated by the demon's laughter. "You," Gort declared, pointing at one of the lesser demons, "take care of Tuxedo guy. The girls mine!"

Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon both jumped high into the air towards the demons, giving Gort a nasty surprise. As he landed Tuxedo Mask whipped out his cane, stabbing at Gort. At the same time Sailor Moon landed a flying kick to Gort's head. Gort staggered back from the combined attack as his wingless minion tackled Tuxedo Mask.

Sailor Moon landed on the ground with a slight stumble. She turned to glance at Tuxedo Mask, in time to see him throw off the lesser devil and slash at him.

"Sailor Moon, watch out!" the man Gort had grabbed yelled.

Sailor Moon instinctively dived out of the way of one of Gort's energy beams. Sailor Moon wailed as she scrambled away from the devil's blasts. At a distance Tuxedo Mask easily dodged his opponent's blows, landing thrusts and strikes from his cane. He was unable to get the distance he needed to throw his roses.

Gort and Sailor Moon were in a similar deadlock. He couldn't hit the chaotic wailing teen, and she was spending all her time dodging. Finally the stalemate was ended as Sailor Moon tripped over a tree root and dropped to the ground. She got to her feet, just in time to be struck by Gort latest bolt.

Time seemed to slow for the reluctant heroine. She could see Tuxedo Mask fighting in the distance, his cane barely moving.

'Why am I fighting?' Sailor Moon thought to herself. 'Why am I bothering to protect these people? I put myself on the line and what happens? I get no recognition except as some kind of legend. I can't keep up with my schoolwork, so I get blasted by mom, dad and my teachers. Why should I bother? Why shouldn't I act for me for once? Why am I responsible?!' she demanded in her thoughts

She looked around. The man who had moments ago saved her life was sitting on the ground cradling the woman the devil had struck. A group of men and women, not as scared as they had been before her entrance.

Sailor Moon closed her eyes. 'It's not my responsibility. I've seen my friends die once already. Let someone else do it! It's not my responsibility!' she yelled in the silent vaults of her mind.

Then the memories started. Her romantic dinner with Darien. The new people she had met at bar, welcoming her without knowing her. Darien, Amy, Raye, and Lita saying how proud they were of her. Saving Reenie from the Dark Moon family. Finding out she would one day be Queen of Crystal Tokyo and Reenie was her daughter. Alan and Ann, saved and leaving to start their life anew. Helping Venus save the kids on the bus from the Cardian. Countless other lives touched by her actions. That was the point! That was what made it worthwhile!

The red sphere vanished from around the heroine. Gort chuckled, believing his enemy defeated. Instead of falling to the ground she instead opened her eyes, and shifted into a combat stance

"How?" Gort demanded. "How could you resist my spell?!"

"She resisted because her spirit is strong," a new voice cried out. Everyone to face the voice.

Floating in the air, long robes billowing in a nonexistent wind, was a cowled woman. Her robes were a mixture of grey and white and her face hidden deep in the darkness of her hood.

"Born of void, brining light to the darkness, I am Astra, Warrior of the Ether." As she spoke Astra sank towards the ground, touching down lightly on the ground, robes still moving in

Gort stepped back in fear, though Sailor Moon couldn't guess why. "Y-you c-can't b-be, you died!" he cried.

"Then let the dead pronounce judgment on the damned." She raised her arms wide. "WINDS OF MIDNIGHT!" As Astra's cried echoed into the air, the wind blowing her robes picked up, agitating them into greater movement. A dark wind blow from amongst the folds of her garments, striking Gort.

Gort reacted by blocking his face with his arms, but it was obvious he was having trouble resisting the force of the concentrated blast of wind. Sailor Moon was still trying to figure out what was happening.

"Sailor Moon, finish him!" Astra screamed.

"Right!" Sailor Moon nodded then held her scepter above her head. "MOON SCEPTRE ELIMINATION!" Sailor moon sent the crescent of energy swooping in to the devil.

Gort cried in agony as he was erased from existence. Moments later the two lesser devil vanished, leaving a trace of smoke hanging in the air.

Astra turned to look at Sailor Moon, then turned to sweep over to the night's only casualty. She knelt beside the girl. "This woman is the only one which his spell touched?" she asked the man cradling the woman.

"Other than Sailor Moon, yes," he replied shakily.

"Good," Astra announced, then placed her hands in front of her and started chanting. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask looked at each other, the walked over to stand over Astra. Both the victim and the strange woman were glowing softly.

Finally Astra stopped chanting. "I have done what I can for the girl. Now only time can heal her."

"Thank you."

Astra got to her feet and faced the pair of heroes. She stood slightly taller than Tuxedo Mask, and towered over Sailor Moon. "You will have questions. Come away and I will answer them." Astra led them away from the unconscious girl and her lover. Once they were out of earshot Astra turned to them.

"The creatures we faced are simply called devils. They are one of two ancient forces that seek domination in this world," she told them.

"And you represent the other?" Sailor Moon asked.

"No, I fight for us!"

"Us?" Tuxedo Mask asked.

"Humans."

Sailor Moon frowned. "What was supposed to happen to me? What happened to that girl?"

Astra shifted beneath her robes. "That spell is a form of mind control. It encourages you to become less caring, to throw off your responsibilities and think only of yourself. You lose all respect for others, including authority figures. Anarchy becomes your life. Free thought and free choice are a driving goal, and you join them in trying to convert the rest of the human race."

Tuxedo Mask frowned. "That doesn't sound all bad."

Astra sighed. "But it's all a lie. Enforced freedom is no freedom. Free choice without responsibility is chaos."

"And the girl?" Sailor Moon indicated the woman lying not far away.

"I gave her the ability to perceive her old life without her knew outlook. It is up to her and her loved ones to reassemble her life. I can literally do no more."

"What of the other side?"

"Order and control. No choice, no responsibility, no creativity. There is no future there either. Beware of them, do not let appearances deceive you." Astra looked around. "You friends arrive, I must go." With that Astra rose into the air and vanished into the distance.

Moments later the rest of the scouts sprinted into view. They came to a halt seeing the aftermath of the battle and Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask standing there calmly.

"Sailor Moon, what happened?" Sailor Jupiter demanded.

"We have trouble Jupiter, and it's a long story," Sailor Moon told her.


	2. Chapter 2

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 2

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

Holiday's are for fun. That was Serena's motto, and Mina's too. It took both of them to convince the other three members of their select group to put aside their worries for a day and visit the mall. Strangely Amy had been the easiest to convince, but they discovered that was only because the scientific bookshop was having a sale.

Lita, Mina and Amy were sitting in the food hall watching Serena put away her food. The girls had decided to stop waiting for Raye and get some food. However even after they had finished (Serena was on her third helping) Raye still hadn't turned up.

"It's not like Raye to be late," Lita commented.

"Swe prowbabwy wad work tiwo dwo at the twemwble," Serena volunteered, spray the table with food.

"Serena!" the other girls complained, pulling away from the food assault.

"Maybe we should go shopping and come back later," Mina suggested.

Serena gulped down her mouthful. "Nope, we promised to wait, and we don't want Raye blasting us again."

"You mean, blast you," Lita pointed out. All four girls laughed.

"Speak of the devil," Amy announced, staring into the crowd. She had glimpsed Raye making her way through the crowd towards them.

"Please don't." Serena shuddered slightly, remembering the battle of two nights before.

"Sorry Serena," Amy apologised, realising what was troubling her friend. Serena and Darien had only covered the actual battle in brief during their discussions, but Amy had noticed that Serena reacted strangely when they talked about it. Amy was still trying to decide what to do about it.

The four girls stood and watched Raye as she approached. She walked purposefully towards them, a smile on her face.

"Hey Raye, you're late," Serena told her, a smirk on her face.

"Yes Serena, I'm sorry," Raye apologised, the smile remaining on her face. "I was helping some people hand out these flowers," She indicated a white blossom pinned to her shirt, "and I didn't notice the time." There was a long pause. "Why are you all staring at me?"

The other four all had shocked looks on their faces. Not a one could believe what they had just heard from their friend. Serena had almost purposefully picked a fight and Raye had simply shrugged it off. None of them needed to be psychic to get bad feelings about this one.

"Raye, are you feeling all right?" Lita asked her.

Raye beamed at her. "I'm fine Lita, why?"

"Ah..." started Lita, stuck for words.

"Have you had lunch yet?" Mina jumped in. "We've already eaten, but we don't mind waiting for you." Mina grinned. "I'm sure Serena won't mind going back for a fourth helping."

"Hey!" objected Serena. "That's not..."

"Don't tease her Mina, she just has a very fast metabolism," Raye interrupted. The others went back to staring at her.

Suddenly Serena grabbed Raye by the shoulders. "What's the matter with you?!" she demanded, shaking her hard. "Snap out of it, you're scaring me!" The white flower came lose from Raye shirt and floated to the ground.

"Knock it off meatball head!" Raye snapped. Serena immediately let her go. "What is the matter with you? Shaking me like that, I don't know."

"Raye, are you feeling better now?" Amy inquired.

"Have all of you gone mad?" Raye demanded, dusting herself off. "I was fine until Serena started shaking me, and she knocked my flower off."

"I'll get it." Mina knelt down to pick up the flower. She felt strange as her fingers touched the stem. Suddenly she saw what she was doing wrong with her life. She should be working hard and more giving, not show boating and looking for guys. It was so clear, why hadn't she seen it before, it was as if touching the flower had altered her perceptions.

The others girls recoiled in shock when Mina shot up and crushed the flower beneath her foot. There was a touch of fear in her eyes, and the blood had drained from her face.

"Mina, what's wrong?" Amy inquired, first to recover.

"It tried to take over my mind, like it did with Raye," Mina blurted. Serena unconsciously took a step back.

"Raye, where did you get this?" Lita demanded.

Raye frowned. "When I arrived there were a group of people handing them out at the entrance."

"I think we should investigate this," Amy pointed out.

*****

Garin was, to human perceptions, a handsome young man. His partner, Maral, was an equally beautiful woman. They had been assigned by the Archangel's lieutenant to hand out "The Flowers of Peace." The pair had been together for a long time. If they had been humans, there would probably have been more than just a working relationship.

They had set up shop at the short hallway leading to the entrance to the mall. The flowers were working well. The teenaged girl who had stopped and helped them had been a good example of their power. Already their supply of the flowers was running low.

Every so often there was a lull in the traffic. Garin was planning to slip away during the next one to get more flowers. However just as he was about to leave five girls in skimpy outfits stepped out into the hall.

"You use things of beauty to carry out your foul works!" declared the leader. "We are the Sailor Scouts, fighters for love and justice, and in the name of the Moon..."

"...Mercury..."

"...Mars..."

"...Jupiter..."

"...and Venus..."

"...we'll punish you!" the group declared.

Garin and Maral shared a glance. They both remember the fights of the previous war in the middle realm. Then none of the sides in the conflict had acted so... childish.

"What know you of our actions Mortals?!" Garin demanded.

"We know that you're controlling the minds of the people with those flowers. This we cannot allow!" Sailor Moon declared.

Garin looked at Maral. "Sing for them," he told his silent companion.

Maral smiled, then grandly raised her arms. A large pair of wings burst from her back, moments later Garin went through a similar transformation while Maral opened her mouth and screamed at the scouts. The force of the blast knocked the scouts off their feet.

"She wails worse than Sailor Moon," Mars commented as they scrambled to their feet.

"I think I preferred her earlier," Sailor Moon returned, glaring at Mars.

Sailor Jupiter rolled her eyes. "Jupiter Thunderclap Zap!" the ball of lighting arced through the air, both Garin and Maral leapt out of the way.

"Mercury Icestorm Blast!" The arctic blast struck Garin, freezing him solid. "Sailor Moon!" she cried.

"Right," announced the Scout leader, pulling out the moon sceptre. However before she could use it the ice around Garin hissed into steam.

"Feel the wrath of heaven!" Garin declared, blasting a column of blazing white fire towards the girls. Sailor Moon wailed as she and the others scrambled clear.

Venus let loose a Love Me Chain, which entrapped Garin in its coils. Jupiter and Maral both delivered blasts in the same moment. The Thunderclap struck Venus' chain even as she lost grip of it. The electricity arced along the chain, earthing itself through Garin, dropping him to the ground.

Sailors Moon, Venus, Mercury and Jupiter once more regained their feet, and faced their still standing foe. Maral focused on the four, taking a deep breath to release another scream. Before she could Sailor Mars popped up behind her, slapping a ward on the back of her head, then jumping clear. Paralysed, Maral could only watch as Sailor Moon once more raised the Moon Sceptre.

"Moon Sceptre Elimination!" Serena yelled, sending the crescent of energy sweeping towards the angels. The pair vanished in a glaring flash of light.

"Good move Sailor Mars," Jupiter commented.

"Strange that they just tried to destroy us, not convert us like the devils did to Sailor Moon," Mercury pointed out.

"Ever more violent is the path of the fanatic," a voice behind then declared. The Scouts spun around to find the gray cloaked figure of Astra floating there. "And Angels are nothing if not fanatics." She floated down to land before them. "You fought well Sailor Scouts, but do not let your victory here lead you to overconfidence, these were but foot soldiers."

"So why didn't you help?!" Sailor Mars demanded forcefully.

"I have but now arrived," Astra replied. "My aid though is still required, the flowers are yet potent." Astra raised her hand and a sphere of dark energy appeared in her hand. She tossed the ball to the ground, where it exploded, sending out a sphere of darkness sweeping throughout the mall. As the energy touched the Scouts they gave an involuntary shudder. "Now I must go Sailor Scouts, but this I will tell you, we are being watched."

Astra raised her hand to gesture off to one side. The scouts turned to see a camera crew pointing a camera at them. Turning back they found that Astra had vanished. Deciding that when it came to the media discretion was the better part of valour, the five girls sprinted off.

*****

Across town in the Pigeon's Nest Namoyi and Katsuko silently sat watching the events on bar's TV. Namoyi had come in for lunch, but had stopped eating when Katsuko noticed the News break on the television. They hadn't seen much, just the end of the battle.

"That was interesting," Katsuko commented. "One thing I'll say for the Scouts new friend, she knows how to understate her exits." She turned to find Namoyi with her sketch book out.

After a time of busily scribbling on the piece of paper Namoyi pulled away to look at it. Katsuko leaned over to peer over her shoulder.

The picture was of Astra, standing with her thick robes billowing around her. Behind her a nightmarish castle loomed upon a cliff. Namoyi had dotted the sky with stars, but other the cliff edge you couldn't see the horizon. There didn't seem to be any vegetation drawn in, and no clouds or moon in the sky. Something about the picture, probably the castle, sent a shiver down Katsuko's spine.

"There's something missing," Namoyi mused, frowning. "I don't know what, but something is missing."

"A cute fluffy bunny?" Katsuko suggested.

Namoyi gave her a dirty look.

"Sorry, bad joke," Katsuko looked closely at the picture. "She looks like she should be with someone."

Namoyi beamed. "That's it!" She then deflated. "But who?"

Katsuko shrugged, the scene didn't seem right for the Sailor Scouts. Namoyi would have to redraw the picture so it didn't give that impression.

*****

Now that the trip to the mall was a bust, the girls decided to have an impromptu Scout meeting. After collecting the two cats they headed over to the Cherry Hill temple. The cats sat quietly as the scouts described the battle.

"Raye, why didn't you sense them?" Luna inquired.

Raye shrugged. "I don't know," she admitted.

"Maybe it's because they appear to be good guys," Mina suggested. The others stared at her. "You know, self-improvement and all that is good for you. She might be sensing them, but because they act like nice helpful people, she's feels nice helpful people, not monsters."

Everyone stared at Mina for awhile, running her explanation through their heads. It was Amy who spoke first. "It doesn't really matter, we've just got to realise that we can't rely on Raye's senses. No offence Raye."

"None taken."

"Our real problem is that we now face two enemies, with powers unlike anything we've fought before. We can stop them, but we don't really have a way to repair the damage, for that we have to rely on someone we don't know with powers we don't understand. It's like before we found out who Tuxedo Mask was."

"Nicely summarised Amy," Luna commented.

"I can't believe you don't trust Astra," announced Serena. "She's helped us twice."

Artemis nodded. "But what about that spell she used, you all said it felt wrong."

"Maybe that was the only way she could destroy the flowers," Serena suggested.

"I think that's part of the point," Lita said. "She used a spell that was evil, so she's willing to do anything to get a job done. Can we always trust her if she thinks like that?"

*****

The bar at the Pigeon's Nest was comfortably crowded. Dominique was in of course, studyin hard. Tashiro had managed to find himself someone to tell his stories of the old days to. The only other regular in that night was Aki, he had come in with a girl and the pair were sitting at a table near the bar, pouring over the blueprints of some device.

As always Katsuko stood behind the bar watching everything. She was considering the pair sitting at the table. They both seemed excited about whatever it was they were designing (well Aki was designing, his friend was just telling him what it should do.) Her curiosity was just about to get the better of her when she felt the hairs on the back of her neck to rise. Turning to the door she saw an unfortunately familiar figure walking towards the bar. The woman was tall, and had a serious look on her face. Black hair streamed down her back, but if you looked closely you could see a hint of green.

"Hello Katsuko, long time no see," the woman greeting the barkeeper.

"Not long enough Setsuna, or is it Susan, I can never keep up with your ever changing names," Katsuko said snidely.

"Setsuna, please," Setsuna replied.

"What do you want?" Katsuko demanded.

"Don't your regulars get drinks?" Setsuna smiled at Katsuko. It wasn't a friendly smile.

"You're not one of my regulars," the barkeeper replied.

"What a pity," Setsuna's smile vanished. "I've come to warn you about your family business. It's interfering with mine."

"That should bother me how?" Katsuko inquired.

"I may have to deal with it directly," Setsuna told her, a threat in her voice.

"Your family tried that before and failed. Now I think you should leave before one of us makes a threat," Katsuko hissed.

Setsuna gave the other woman a calm glare, then turned and walked towards the door. Katsuko muttered curses under her breath.

During the exchange Tashiro had stopped talking and listened in on the pair. "What was that about?" he asked.

"Our families have been feuding since they were formed. We've just never got along," Katsuko shrugged, then started pouring a drink.

Moments later Darien and Serena came through the door. As they walked Serena kept glancing over he shoulder. By the time they reached the bar Katsuko had a pair of drinks waiting for them.

"Hello, Darien, Serena, how's life been treating you?" Katsuko's anger had swept out of her and she greeted the pair with a smile.

"We're fine, thanks Katsuko," replied Darien as they sat at the bar. Serena immediately turned to stare out the door again.

"What's wrong Serena?" the bartender relied.

"Huh?" Serena looked around. "Um, we passed a woman on the way in, and I'm sure I know her."

"Probably that Setsuna you were arguing with," Tashiro suggested.

"Setsuna?" Serena asked. "The woman with black green tinted hair?"

Tashiro nodded. "She was in here talking to Katsuko about family."

"She's related to you?" Serena asked Katsuko, confused.

Katsuko shock her head. "Thankfully, no. Our families are in similar businesses - not bartending - and we've been butting heads for along time."

"I doubt its your friend anyway," Darien declared. "I doubt she came back there."

Serena looked at him, then shrugged. "You're probably right." Serena noticed here drink on the bar for the first time. "Hey, thanks Katsuko. Does this mean I'm a regular now?"

Katsuko looked down at the drink as if seeing it for the first time. "I guess so, if I got it right."

Serena took a sip of the drink. "Mmm, that's lovely, just perfect Katsuko, thanks."

Katsuko nodded. "You're welcome, don't forget to pay your tab on the way out," Katsuko deadpanned, then grinned showing she was joking.


	3. Chapter 3

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 3

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

Amy looked up at sign, then back at the slip of paper. She found it strange that her assignment partner wanted to meet at the bar of a restaurant. At least the place looked respectable.

"Good evening, can I help you?" The girl at the front desk greeted her warmly when she pushed open the front door.

Amy responded with a shy smile. "Ah, I'm supposed to meet someone here." She glanced down at the paper still clutched in her hand. "Her name is Dominique Woodburn."

"Oh, of course, she's waiting for you in the bar, just go straight in," Kerri told her.

Amy nodded her thanks, then headed through the door. She entered the bar just in time to witness a familiar figure fall backwards off her stool, taking with her the two men sitting either side of her.

"That wasn't funny Jiro!" Serena complained. The others at the bar obviously didn't agree, most of them were hiding smirks. Darien had joined Serena on the floor.

The other young man Serena had spilled sat scratching the back of his head. "I didn't expect you to react quite like that."

"What do expect? You showed me a severed finger!" Serena exclaimed.

"It was a joke, see." Jiro demonstrated by pulling his thumb from the small box. "Just a gag."

Serena stood and dusted herself off. "Well it wasn't funny."

"You can say that again," Darien commented as he got back onto his seat.

"Amy!" Serena cried happily, spotting her standing at the door. "What are you doing here?"

Amy suddenly found herself the centre of attention for the group at the bar. Even the woman behind the bar. The rest of the room somehow ignored the goings on at the bar. Amy wished she could join them in their ignorance.

"Oh, I've got to introduce you to everyone!" Serena exclaimed, dashing over. She was bubbling over like Mina would.

'Now there's a scary comparison,' Amy thought as her friend dragged her towards the bar.

Serena introduced her to Katsuko, Jiro and his brother Ichiro, the old man Tashiro, and Namoyi. The last had on a necklace that caught Amy's attention. Hanging from a silver chain were the symbols of the Sailor Scouts.

Amy must of been staring because Namoyi glanced down at the necklace. "Nice, isn't it, I had it made specially and just got it today." She lifted the necklace and grinned. "If you hadn't noticed I'm a Sailor Scout fan."

"More like a fanatic," Ichiro joked.

"HEY!" cried Namoyi.

"You never did say why you're here," Katsuko pointed out, neatly changing the subject.

"She's working with me on a project," a quite voice from behind Amy volunteered. She turned to find Dominique standing there. "I have a booth we can work at," the strange girl told Amy.

The pair vanished into one of booths at the back of the room, watched by the rest of the regulars.

"What a weird pair," Ichiro commented. "You're friend actually managed to say less than Dominique."

Serena shrugged. "She's always like that when meeting new people."

"And how did a vibrant out going girl like you met a quiet studier like her?" Tashiro inquired.

"Ah," Serena started intelligently, stuck for a second. Then she struck on a plan. She'd tell the truth. "I bumped into her and accidentally knocked her homework out of her hands. She forgot something when she hurried off and I returned it to her. We've been friends since."

"You know, that's the first time I've heard that story," Darien commented. Everyone turned to stare him in disbelief. "It was before we started going out," he explained.

The conversation at the bar turned to other things, including Aki's new friend. Of course seeing as no one even knew her name it was all just wild expectation. The night was starting to wind down for Serena and Darien when her watch suddenly started beeping.

"Curfew?" Katsuko inquired.

"Something like that," Serena muttered. "Come on Darien, lets go." She grabbed his arm and pulled him from his stool.

"Interesting," Katsuko commented watching the pair leave.

"Hey, Katsuko," called Ichiro. "Give me another!" Katsuko turned away, not seeing Amy slip quietly out the door.

*****

Sailor Venus snapped shut her communicator. The other Scouts were on their way and unless the devils started causing trouble her best bet was to wait for them. She didn't like three to one odds.

The real question was why were they back here. Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask had first fought these creatures here, and Astra had first turned up here, but usually their enemies didn't return to the scene of the crime. Okay, so Raye's temple had been attacked numerous times, but that seemed to be coincidence. Obviously this enemy was different.

She'd been cutting through the park on her way home, it was well lit so it was safe even after dark. She had spotted the hulking form of the devil leader pacing around the area and slipped away to transform and sneak forward. Since returning all she'd seen the devil do is pace back and forward and scare away anyone wandering near.

A rustling in the bushes behind her alerted her to the arrival of Sailors Moon and Mercury and Tuxedo Mask. Venus glanced at them as they settled down besides her.

"What's up?" Sailor Moon asked in a whisper.

Venus waved her hand at the three devils. "Just this, wandering back and forth," Venus replied.

Mercury activated her visor, and scanned the devils. "The large one is emitting some form of energy, I think he's scanning for something," she informed the others.

"So what do we do?" Sailor Moon asked.

"Wait until Mars and Jupiter show up or they find whatever they're looking for," Venus replied.

It wasn't long before the last two Scouts appeared out of the darkness. There was a short pause while the situation was explained to them.

"Right, let's go get them!" Jupiter declared, slamming her fist into the palm of her hand. Sailor Moon turned, hushed her then returned to watching the scene before them unfold.

Mars and Jupiter hadn't been the only people to just arrive. Astra had floated silently into the park and hovered in the darkness watching the demons. Sailor Moon had spotted her while the others talked, but so far their strange ally had just stayed still and watched.

"What she doing?" Mars demanded. "And why aren't they reacting?"

"She's surrounded herself with some form of energy, perhaps its shielding her from them," Mercury suggested.

"Sounds useful," Jupiter commented.

"Declare yourselves devils," Astra declared, sweeping forward. The large devil turned to face her with a hiss.

"Or then again maybe she's just good at hiding in plan sight," Mercury commented.

"Astra, so we meet again!" the demonic leader declared.

Astra gave no sign of being surprised that the devil knew her, but the cloak hid much. "Am I supposed to know you?" she inquired.

The devil raised a claw to one eye. From their position the Scouts couldn't see the scar that crossed the eye. "You should Astra, it was you who gave me this in the Venusian capital."

"You expect me to remember every minor devil I come across?"

"MINOR?!" roared the devil jumping forward to strike the figure. Astra blurred aside towards where the Scouts were hiding.

"You can't even touch me, I don't why I'm bothering dealing with you," Astra said flippantly.

The devil roared again and charged forward, crashing both fists done upon Astra. Astra barely moved to dodge the blow, then leapt over her opponent pushing down on his head.

"Always easy to rage, eh Orta," Astra taunted. "Probably why you're still on busy work."

Orta swiped at Astra, who pulled back, the claws barely missing her robes. Astra laughed as she continued to pull back. "Poor little Orta, incapable of hitting me. I can't believe I needed help to fight you last time." Orta continued to slash at Astra, who continued to dodge backwards, leaping onto the lip of the fountain.

"Why the cunning..." Jupiter commented standing up. She went into a combat stance and watched the pair closely. The others looked at her standing their as still as a statue for a few seconds, then three things happened. Sailor Mars opened her mouth to ask what Jupiter was doing, Astra shot straight up, and Sailor Jupiter threw one of her thunderclaps. The ball of energy struck the demon, sending him splashing into the fountain with a roar.

"Now Mercury!" ordered Sailor Jupiter.

"Mercury Icestorm Blast!" yelled Sailor Mercury, freezing the water in the fountain.

The two lesser devils who'd been content to watch their leader battle against the lone warrior decided to aid their leader. They ran towards the stricken devil, intent on freeing him from the ice.

"Mars, Venus, take care of them," Sailor Moon ordered. As the pair burst out to attack the lesser devils Sailor Moon strode purposefully over to the fountain.

Orta looked up at the beautiful sailor suited soldier. "Who are you?" he demanded.

"I'm Sailor Moon," she told him simply, "I fight for love and justice, and I'm here to punish you."

Orta gave a roar and broke free of the ice. He towered over Sailor Moon, laughing.

"Look out Sailor Moon!" Tuxedo Mask shouted, throwing himself at her and knocking her to the ground. Orta's fists slammed into the ground she had stood on moments before.

"Right!" Sailor Moon declared, getting to her feet. "Moon Sceptre Elimination!" she sang, sending the crescent of energy flying into the devil.

Orta screamed in agony as his body dissolved. Moments later the pair of lesser devils vanished. The Scouts stood taking in the scene for a few moments.

"Fascinating, I wonder if that's some kind of incentive to fight," Mercury conjectured.

"What?" asked Jupiter.

"When the leader is destroyed, the subordinates go too. It'd certainly stop any rebellions," Mercury explained.

"Astra's gone again," Mars announced angrily.

"Then let's follow suit," suggested Tuxedo Mask. The others nodded, then the group split up to head their separate ways.

*****

Deep within the pits of Hell Lucifer sat, listening to the nervous report given by the imp before him. The small creature cowered before him, afraid that this might be one of the occasions that the messenger would be shot.

"The power of the worlds is truly so weak that it will not support many of us," Lucifer repeated.

"Not quite, my Lord, it appears that the translation effect on the event horizon of the gateway is forced to process that energy so that we can survive. Unfortunately the lack of free mana has destabilised the event horizon and flawed the reprocessing of mana. The effect reaches a terminal level if enough mana is accessed in the middle realm," Imp explained.

"Will our eternal enemies also suffer this weakness?" Lucifer inquired thoughtfully.

"Oh indubitably. The human Astra was only able to dephaze the middle realm because of the similarities between our's and their's gateways."

"Good. What of the investigation into the loss of our scouts?" Lucifer reclined back in his chair.

"I dispatched a warrior called Orta, he was the only living devil we have that has fought against the humans' champions. He took a pair of wingless ones. One of my own people also went to watch in secret."

"How did Orta die?"

"Badly my lord," Imp replied with a smirk.

"That was to be expected from him. What have we learnt from his death?"

"My Imp reports that he was engaged by an individual he identified as Astra. She apparently knew Orta well enough to lure him into an ambush by another group. From the description it was difficult to determine whether this new group is affiliated with the original Warriors of Ether, however the one who eliminated Orta identified herself as Sailor Moon, a fighter for love and justice. Astra did not at any time converse with Sailor Moon or her warriors."

"Are they powerful enemies?" Lucifer inquired.

"Until we are able to stabilise the translation effect they will be a force to be reckoned with," Imp replied.

"You may go with your life," Lucifer waved at Imp.

"Yes my lord, thank you my lord." The Imp bowed and scraped his way out of the room.

"And so the cycle begins again," Lucifer commented, smirking.

*****

Serena dashed into the room wailing. "I'm gonna be late!" she cried grabbing a piece of toast and popping it into her mouth. She hurried to the door pausing long enough to pull on her shoes, almost causing Luna to slip from her shoulder. Behind her Sammy gave his mother a baffled look.

Despite what Sammy was thinking, Serena had not gone crazy and forgotten that it was the holidays. She had, in fact, slept almost all the way to a scout meeting.

As Serena left home the other girls were just arriving at the temple. Amy and Lita were their punctual of course, Mina and Artemis turned up not long after. The small group then sat down on the stairs to wait for their leader.

"What did she do after the fight last night?" Raye demanded, pacing before the seated group.

"She and Darien didn't go back to the bar with me," Amy commented, not looking up from her book.

Lita popped up besides her, causing Amy to recoil in surprise. The book slid from her lap and fell closed on the ground. "And what were you doing in a bar?" she asked suspiciously. Raye and Artemis sweatdropped.

Mina popped up on Amy's other side. "Going boy hunting without your best friends? How could you?" Mina demanded, sounding hurt.

Amy threw up her hands to defend herself. "It wasn't like that, I was just meeting someone." Even as she said it Amy knew that was the wrong thing to say.

"You've got a boyfriend and you didn't tell us? That's real mean." Mina frowned unhappily. "Does he have a cute brother?" she asked perking up.

Amy sweatdropped. "My project partner spends her evenings there waiting for her sister to get off work. It just happened to be the same bar Darien and Serena have been going to for a while."

"No cute brother?" Mina inquired, pouting.

"Only an older sister," Amy replied. "Serena did introduce me to a couple of boys, but I didn't get much of a chance to talk to them."

Mina lept to her feet, hand pointing into the sky. "I'll ask Serena then!" she announced.


	4. Chapter 4

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 4

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

Dominique trudged up the stairs towards the temple, behind her Namoyi followed in a lighter mood. While this trip was for Namoyi, Dominique had suggested the destination.

The Cherry Hill Temple was a beautiful sight, like many of the temples in Tokyo. It had been the first place Dominique had thought of when Namoyi had openly despaired of finding a scene to paint for her art class. She had visited the temple four years ago. Even then the quiet girl had been fascinated in religions. She'd met the young Miko Raye then, Dominique hadn't much liked the bossy girl, but looking upon the temple again she wondered about her.

"This place is perfect!" Namoyi announced beside her. "It's so peaceful and quiet. Almost," she paused, looking for the word.

"Serene," Dominique supplied, a quiet smile on her face.

"Yeah, that's it. No indication that, just beyond the trees, lies a bustling city!"

"CHAD!!!" the scream shattered the illusion. Moments later a young man in priests robes sprinted into view. He was immediately followed by a young woman in similar robes, wielding a broom in a hostile fashion. "I TOLD YOU, NO MORE SINGING!!!" The pair watching them sweatdropped.

"So much for serenity," Namoyi commented as the fighting pair vanished around the corner of the building.

"Yeah," Dominique agreed.

The temple yard was deserted so it wasn't long before the old temple priest approached them. "Ah, what can I do for a beautiful pair of girls like you? I doubt you want a charm to attract boys, maybe luck with your exams?"

Dominique rolled her eyes and turned to look away, leaving Namoyi to deal with the old man. While they talked she watched a couple pass through the gate. She noted that the woman's hair was an unusual shade of green. Her companion at first glance appeared to be a man, certainly in the way the pair held each other, but after watching them Dominique realised he was actually just a masculine looking woman. She looked away from them concluding that life was strange.

By the time Namoyi was finished with the priest, the young man - Chad, if the she remembered right - had come out to start sweeping the yard. Dominique turned back to Namoyi.

"I'm surprised you didn't know about this place," the quiet girl commented.

"Why?"

"Its has had more Sailor sightings than almost anywhere else in Juuban," Dominique replied in her soft voice.

"You're kidding!" Namoyi accused.

*****

Serena found herself standing on a empty plain that stretched till it met the star filled sky. The stars were strange, they just sat in the sky, not twinkling at all. No sounds or smells reached her, she was alone on the plain, and yet she felt a presence. Behind her. She spun around to face it.

Looming over her like a monster ready to pounce, its towers stretching into the sky, the castle filled both the sky and Serena with dread. The gates welcomed her like maw of a hungry creature.

"Mercury Bubbles Blast!"

Amy's voice echoed from the castle, coming as a shock in the absolute silence. Serena dashed towards the gates, expecting the teeth-like portcullis to slam down on her as she passed under it.

The air in the courtyard was damp and chilled, the wisps of fog still hanging in the air. Water dripped down the wall and from the gutters. A light frost covered the two bodies lying on the ground.

As she approached the bodies she immediately recognised one as Amy. Not Sailor Mercury, but Amy. She lay unmoving, the picture of blissful sleep, except for the white-blue tinge to her skin. No breath misted from her mouth and her chest did not rise.

The other girl lay face down, as unmoving as Serena's friend. She wore a light cloak of blues and somehow looked familiar. Serena reached down to turn the body.

"Mars Fire Ignite!" Raye's voice echoed through the castle. Urgency gripped Serena, she had to get to her friend.

She hurried towards the keep's doors, passing through them effortlessly. The cold clammy air gave way to stifling heat. The dark star lit courtyard became a grand entry hall. Candles lined the room, flames dancing, and a fire crackled away in a fireplace. The stench of charred meat filled wafted over her.

Again she spied a pair of bodies lying upon the rug nearby, the source of the smell. One body was burnt beyond recognition. the other wore a set of charred priestess' robes.

Serena knelt next to Raye. Her face, a mess of burns, was twisted in terror. The clothes she wore had been seared onto her body. Nausea overwhelmed Serena, forcing her to look away.

"Jupiter Thunder Crash!" Once more the voice of a friend spurred Serena into action. She quickly moved up the stairs and out a set of french doors.

The smell of scorched flesh was replaced by the slightly less nauseous scent of smoke as she rushed through the blasted scenery that had once been a forested garden. Trees lay split and charred as if struck from above.

She found Lita in a gade. As she approached she saw a shadow stand from examining the body and dash away. Her friend, the Sailor Scout of thunder, lay, arms and legs bent, muscles clenched, still smouldering. As Serena stood over her friend pins and needles ran across her skin. She realised that the air was literally alive with electricity.

"Venus Crescent Beam Smash!" Fear surged through Serena at the sound of her final friend's voice. Once more she hurried onwards.

A shadow darted away as she entered. Mina was lying in a room full of shattered art. Statues and painting had once graced the room, but now they lay shattered, holes blasted through them. The fight had ruined the unusual pieces. It had also finished her last friend. A hole, cauterised by the beam, had been cut directly through her chest, right where her heart had been.

Serena didn't stop, couldn't stop. She hurried on, towards whatever goal her friends had died a second time for. She found herself running along a stone corridor. The air was cold, but dry, the walls dark and lifeless.

The large chamber opened before her. In the centre, between two glowing discs stood Astra and the Moon Princess. In Astra's outstretched arms was a glowing staff, The Moon Princess held the silver crystal before her, it's light brightening he room.

"Cosmic Moon Power!" the Moon Princess yelled.

"Astral Power Supreme!" Astra yelled at the same moment.

A blinding light overtook the two.

Serena turned and ran. Down the corridor, past the broken statues, through the garden, along the entry hall, across the courtyard and out the gates. She whirled around to watch as the castle exploded, rending open the starry sky.

The hoards of heaven and hell descended towards her.

*****

Serena's scream woke the whole house. Her parents rushed to find her sitting up in bed, wild eyed and hyperventilating. Sammy stood at the door watching as they soothed her. The teenage girl held onto her cat, gently rocking and crying.

After a while Serena calmed down, and with assurances that they were just down the hall, her parents left. Luna waited until they were gone before speaking.

"Why couldn't you tell you parents about the dream?" Luna asked,

Serena shivered in the darkness. "It was about the scouts. They were all dead, horribly dead. We failed," her voice was no more than a hoarse whisper.

Luna regarded her charge seriously. "Are you sure you weren't just having a nightmare about Queen Beryl?"

"No. There were two others dead, and I think another two I didn't quite see. Astra was there, she and I were doing something momentous. We failed, and those *things* invaded." Serena started to sniffle.

"It was probably just a nightmare, but we'll get Raye to do a fire reading tomorrow morning," Luna assured her, 'And I'll keep watch on you tonight,' she added silently.

*****

Namoyi turned up at the Cherry Hill Temple early the next morning. She set up her easel and paints then stood contemplating her subject.

Again the temple area was deserted. Leaving Namoyi peace to work. She never noticed the tired form of Serena slink across the yard with a black cat in tow.

Raye was surprised and shocked to see Serena. Normally the loud-mouthed cry-baby wouldn't be seen up that early, that surprised Raye. She was shocked by the way Serena looked.

The normally energetic girl looked like the walking dead. Her eyes were sunk into black pits and she listed to one side as she stumbled up to Raye.

"Hi, Raye," Serena groaned. "Can we go inside?"

"Uh, sure," Raye stuttered as Serena staggered past her. She looked down at the moon cat, but didn't ask the question.

Luna answered it anyway. "She had a nightmare and couldn't get back to sleep," Luna shook her head. "It scared her Raye. I was hoping you could do a fire reading and find out something."

"She thinks it was prophetic?" Raye inquired, glancing into the temple after Serena.

Luna nodded. "It featured Astra and her doing something together, and all of you dead. She thinks we're going to loose this fight."

Raye turned to look into the temple for a few seconds. "Okay, I'll go get ready. You find where Serena's wandered off to."

*****

Aki and Fujiko looked at the backpack. It was the cumulation of weeks of work on his part and years of theorising on her's. The pair had, if Fujiko wasn't a first class loon, invented a device which could detect and analyse the emanations of the Sailor Scouts and the monsters they regularly fought,

Of course if you asked anyone who knew Fujiko, they would probably tell you she was a first class loon. To be fair to the girl, she was a genius, and she wouldn't be the first intellectual to be laughed at. Unfortunately her personal grooming habits and a number of bad experiments had left her looking like the stereotypical mad scientist.

It was a testament to her persuasive skills that she had managed to convince Aki to join her little experiment. Or maybe love really is blind.

"We'll need to field test it," Fujiko announced, looking at the Quantum Reality Field Scanner.

Aki smiled cunningly. "I know the perfect place," he pulled out a map of Juuban, then pointed to a spot on it, "its had the most sightings, including one of those beams of light."

Fujiko looked the name of the place under his finger. "Yes, perfect," she agreed. "Absolutely perfect." She threw back her head, laughing a laugh that would have put villains to shame..

Aki gave her a strange look.

*****

The Pigeon's Nest was almost empty. The restaurant was closed until mid-afternoon and usually Katsuko would be fast asleep resting for a busy night's work. Unfortunately once every couple of weeks she needed to come in to check the stocks of the various liquors.

The sudden knocking from the front door disturbed her inventory. Cranky from lack of sleep she decided to ignore whoever it was and continue with her work.

Shortly the sound of the door being unlocked carried over bar. "Sorry, we're closed." Koan, the Pigeon's Nests owner, had answered the door. Katsuko could recognise his voice anywhere, the pair had been friends for a long time.

"I know, I'm looking for a Miss Chino," the woman's voice was soft and gentle. There was an apologetic turn to it.

"Oh, right, come with me." Katsuko cursed silently as she heard Koan's heavy footsteps approaching. She surfaced from behind the bar as the pair entered.

Koan was a large man. He had gotten into the restaurant business because he loved fine food and this was obvious from his girth. The Pigeon's Nest was a success largely because of him. His friendly outgoing personality infected the rest of the staff, making the place a nice cozy place.

The young woman next to him had a quiet beauty about her and wore a friendly smile. When she first saw her Katsuko's first thought was: 'housewife.'

"Katsuko, you have a visitor," Koan told her.

Katsuko nodded. "I heard. Thank you, Koan." She turned to the woman. "What can I do for you?"

"I received a letter from a solicitor who had been asked to hold it for my late mother. It directed me to find you and give you this." The young woman handed Katsuko a neatly folded piece of paper.

Katsuko opened the letter.

"Lady Chino," the letter started, "I write this letter because I know that I shall soon die. As you directed I have not told my husband what we discussed and my daughters are still too young for any to understand the import of it. My solicitor has directed to release this letter only to my eldest some years from now.

"Hopefully my children will be ready for you by then. I plead with you to be patient with them, for I have taught them nothing of our family and our heritage. It has been long since we met, and I wish you luck in the life destiny has set you."

Katsuko frowned as she glanced at the signature. She didn't recognise the name, and certainly couldn't remember any Tendo's in the family tree. Then an old memory surfaced.

"You're father wouldn't happed to be called Soun Tendo would he?" Katsuko asked the woman waiting patiently before her.

"Yes, he is," the girl replied simply.

"Ah, then I think I know what this is about. Your mother was a distant cousin of mine, obviously there was some family obligations your mother left unfulfilled, but I'll need to go over my records to discover what. Unfortunately I have business that will keep me in Juuban for sometime, so this will have to wait," Katsuko explained.

"I'm sure that, whatever it is, it can wait. Please come visit us when you're ready," Kasumi suggested. Katsuko wrote down the Tendo dojo's address as Kasumi gave it to her.

"Do you have a brother?" Kasumi asked, a touch of worry in her voice.

Katsuko blinked at the unexpected question. "No," she replied. "I had a little sister, but no brothers."

"Oh good, it won't be an engagement then, we have enough of them as it is," Kasumi said in her happy voice.

Katsuko stared at her for a few seconds, then decided it wasn't any of her business, yet. "Okay, I'll see you in a few months," she said, coming out from behind the bar to escort Kasumi to the door.

Leaning against the door Katsuko shook her head. "I can't believe I forgot something that important," she muttered.

*****

Raye sat before the fire, trying again to see something, anything other than... "that blasted castle again!" Raye exclaimed.

"Just like the one in my dream," Serena commented again. Raye's original description had been so vivid that Serena had immediately made the connection.

"Apparently it looms important in our future," Raye said. "Perhaps we should call the others and talk about this, see if anyone else is having dreams."

"We're all gonna die!" wailed Serena.

"No we are not!" declared Luna. "This is probably like what Darien went through, the enemy trying to disturb us. It's a dream, nothing more."

Raye frowned, doubting her.

Outside the temple Namoyi was painting energetically so she didn't notice Aki and Fujiko arrive. Aki was carrying the Scanner backpack and holding the small monitor in his left hand. Being an observant scientist he immediately spotted his friend. It wasn't hard, the only other people were a couple wandering around admiring the temple.

Fujiko rolled her eyes as Aki made a beeline towards the painter. She hurried over to see what he was doing. The pair of mad scientists stared at the half done painting for a few seconds.

"Ah, Namoyi," Aki started.

Namoyi didn't look up. "Hmm? Oh hi Aki," Namoyi greeted in a distracted voice.

"You know that looks nothing like the temple," Aki commented.

"What?" Namoyi jumped in shock. She looked at the canvas. "What?" she repeated in disbelief.

"And they call me crazy," Fujiko commented.

Namoyi continued to stare at canvas. "Why did I paint that blasted castle again?!" she demanded. Before anyone could come up with an answer all hell broke loose.

A pair of large devils stormed out of the trees, their wings raised intimidatingly behind them, charging towards the couple Aki had noticed earlier. The young couple, the same two that Namoyi and Dominique had seem the previous day responded in the last way anyone would have expected. They transformed.

The two angels easily dodged the clumsy attack, striking the devils' backs with their staves and sending the two devils smashing into the side of the temple. As the devils emerged from the inside of the temple the two angles lowered pointed their staves and fired off beams of light, narrowly missing their enemy.

Aki, Fujiko and Namoyi stood stunned at the turn of events. When the devils prepared to return fire, Aki was the first to act. He grabbed the arms of the two girls. "Let's get out of here!" he yelled.

Both girls ran, startled out of their shock, joined him in dashing away. Just in time to be missed by devils' beams as they incinerated the easel.

"My painting!" wailed Namoyi, as they collectively jumped down the stairs.

"Tell me that things on!" demanded Fujiko.

"It's on, it's on!" replied Aki, glancing at the flashing device in his hand. As soon as they felt safe the two scientists skidded to a stop and started taking reading with the device.

Back in the temple grounds the fight continued. Angles fired at the devils, tearing holes in the ground as they missed. Devils fired back, sending bright scarlet rays soaring into the air. Neither group could touch the other, resulting in much collateral damage

Serena, Raye and Luna, alerted by the commotion had summoned the other Sailor Scouts before the girls transformed. They had stopped to watch the battle, trying to decide what to do.

"We have to stop them!" Sailor Moon declared, surprising her friend.

"Sailor Moon, they could easily destroy us, especially if they join forces against us," Mars argued.

"They'll destroy the temple if we don't!" Sailor Moon replied. She quickly decided that she could rely on them staying still enough for the sceptre, so plucked the tiara from her head. "Moon Tiara Magic!" The small disc struck the devils just as the angles fired off a volley. The angels' blasts slammed into the distracted devils, sending them reeling. Sailor Moon's Tiara then looped around and buzzed through both Angles' wings, dropping them to the ground.

The four monsters turn to the pair of Sailor Scouts. The battered devils and the Angles with tattered wings glared menacingly at the pair standing just inside the temple.

"Sailor Moon, I think you've made them angry," Sailor Mars said, eying the four warily.

Glows developed around the staves of the angles and the hands of the devils. They stalked towards the two scouts, murder in their eyes. All four snarled as one and released there energy bolts. Sailor Moon screamed.

A flash of red light and the energy exploded in their faces, sending the four supernaturals reeling back. Everyone looked off to one side to find...

"Tuxedo Mask!" Sailor Moon cried happily.

"And the Sailor Scouts!" chorused a trio of voices from the temple gates. Standing there in their introduction poses were Mercury, Jupiter and Venus.

The four monsters turned and separately charge the three groups. The six heroes leapt into combat.

Sailor Jupiter landed before one of the large devils. He immediately swung at her. She grabbed its arm as it flew past her and pulled, throwing the monster, crashing to the ground.

One of the angle's dove forward, reaching out with a clawed hand to grab Sailor Moon. She gave one of her characteristic wails and scampered away. The angel gave chase, only to have a volley of roses bury themselves in its back.

Sailor Mars was taunting the second angle, dodging its enraged attacks. As the creature stabbed forward with its staff she grabbed he weapon, pulled and shoved down, causing it to strike the ground, sending the angle vaulting over her. The angle grinned and stretched out its claws as it saw it was heading straight for another scout. Mercury's smile was the last thing it saw. "Mercury Icestorm Blast!" was the last thing it heard.

Sailor Venus had been sparring with the second devil, but was distracted by the sound of shattering ice. Her opponent, taking advantage of her inattention, slammed a glowing fist into her gut.

Out of the corner of her eye Jupiter saw Venus take the punch and fly backwards before crashing into a tree, She slumped to the ground, head rolling forward. Mercury dashed over to her, kneeling and pulling out her computer. Sailor Mars, wielding the angle's staff, jumped forward to attack the devil.

"Scout's pull out and regroup," Jupiter ordered, leaping away from the devil. Strangely as the four remaining scouts and Tuxedo Mask formed a line on one side of the yard, the devils and remaining angle formed up across from them.

Mars blinked. "Are these things stupid?" she asked, stunned. The answer became evident as a third devil burst from the trees behind them.

The scouts were sent sprawling as the largest devil they'd ever seen smashed past trough them. There was a startled screech as the angle was pummeled into the ground.

The three devils walked over to the dazed scouts, grinning. They loomed over the girls, laughing,

"Lucifer orders you dead," hissed one of the smaller devils.

"Then Lucifer's will will not be done," a voice cried. Everyone turned to find, standing atop the temple gates, a girl wrapped in a red and orange skintight uniform. Her face was masked by a cowl that swept down into a cape that fluttered in the breeze. "Born of Nature and Light, guiding the spirits to fight the dark, I am Phasma, Warrior of Ether."

Sailor Venus climbed weakly to her feet. "Guys, we need to find her tailor," she said weakly.

Phasma crossed her arms before her, then raised them above her head. A large bird formed above her. "Phasmic Falcon Fly!" she yelled, bringing her arms down and apart. The large bird of light swept down to strike the devils. An explosion sent the three tumbling to land in a stunned pile. "Now Sailor Moon!" Phasma cried.

"Right," Sailor Moon answered, leaping to her feet. "Moon Sceptre Elimination!" she cried, waving the moon sceptre before her. The crescent of energy swept towards the pile of devils. "Moon dusted!" Sailor Moon exclaimed happily as the devils vanished.

Mercury returned to Sailor Venus' side. "You should't be moving, you might have broken ribs," she fussed.

Sailor Venus leaned against a tree and gently touched her side. "I think that's a definite possibility," she groaned.

"Phasma's done the disappearing act," Tuxedo Mask commented, looking around.

"Great," Mars said sarcastically. "They never hang around to explain things do they?"

"Who don't?" Astra inquired, landing lightly beside her. "And what happened here?"

"Oh, not much, we almost got ourselves pasted by a half dozen angles and devils. In fact the only reason we're standing here is because your friend Phasma has better timing than you!" Sailor Mars raged.

Astra's dark filled hood gazed at her for a few seconds. "Phasma you say?"

Mercury's computer beeped in her hand and the Sailor Scout frowned at the reading. "I was right, two broken ribs and lots of bruising," she told Venus.

"Perhaps I can help," Astra suggested, sweeping over to the pair. "I was too late to aid your battle, but I can aid you in recovery."

Mercury levelled her gaze on the girl. "And what do you plan to do?"

Astra didn't answer, instead she held up her hand, palm pointed towards Venus. She started chanting softly in a language none of the others recognised. A glowing sphere developed before her hand, which she slowly pushed into Sailor Venus' side. Mercury watched closely as Venus tensed and gasped, then relaxed.

The glow faded and Mercury quickly scanned her friend. As she did Astra leaned heavily against the tree Venus was propped against. For a brief moment Venus could have sworn that she could see the outline of a face within the darkness of Astra's hood.

"She's fixed your ribs," Mercury announced in awe. "That's incredible."

"And difficult," Astra added. "I would prefer you relied on not being wounded than my healing."

"You feel up to answering some questions?" Jupiter asked, walking over.

"I suppose you deserve them now that the war has truly started, but not here or now. The authorities will soon arrive and none of us wish to answer their questions," Astra turned her gaze to Sailor Moon. "I will meet you tonight at twelve at the old church, if that is alright with you. There I will tell you the story of the war we fight."

*****

The Scouts and Tuxedo Mask met outside the church. The place had always been avoided by the locals. Not only was it private property, but the place was spooky. It was said that strange lights could often be seen moving about inside, despite the fact that it was uninhabited.

"I did some research at the city records." Mercury told the others. "This church is currently the property of a Lawson family estate, an American family, I couldn't find anything interesting on them. However a little over a year ago they purchased it from the estate of one Maxfield Stanton."

"MAXFIELD STANTON?!" Sailor Moon and Sailor Mars chorused in surprised.

Mercury nodded. "Apparently this is where Nephlyte had his base of operations."

"I hope Astra knows what she's doing," Jupiter commented.

"I'm sure she does," Tuxedo Mask said, smiling. "I think we should go inside, its past ten."

"Perfect place for a trap," Venus noted as they walked up to the church.

The doors swung open as they approached, revealing the dark interior. Swapping glances the Scouts cautiously walked through the doors. A globe of slowly spinning stars dominated the main room, before which stood Astra, gazing towards them.

"Greetings, Sailor Scouts," she boomed, "welcome, enter."

The group marched forward to stand before her, but before they could say a word she held up her hand to silence them.

"You came here for truths, and truths you will get, but first we should divest ourselves of our greatest deceit," she announced.

Venus leaned over to Jupiter. "What's she talking about?" she whispered. Jupiter shrugged.

Astra raised her right hand to her breast and closed it as if holding something. She stood still for a moment, the her robes started moving. The grey cloth became like water and flowed across her body into her enclosed hand.

Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Tuxedo Mask gasped in shock.


	5. Chapter 5

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 5

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

Astra raised her right hand to her breast and closed it as if holding something. She stood still for a moment, the her robes started moving. The grey cloth became like water and flowed across her body into her enclosed hand.

Sailor Moon, Sailor Mercury and Tuxedo Mask gasped in shock. "Katsuko?!"

Katsuko Chino, bartender at the Pigeon's Nest, recoiled in surprise. "Wha? Do I know you?" she stuttered.

Tuxedo Mask chuckled. "You mean you don't? And here I was believing the bartender was the ultimate source of knowledge." The glow of transformation surrounded him for a second, leaving Darien standing there.

Katsuko shuddered in suppressed laughter. "That explains a lot." She looked at Sailor Moon. "Serena right, and Sailor Mercury is your friend Amy." The pair looked each. Mercury shrugged and they both transformed back.

"Katsuko, how long have you been Astra?" Serena asked, bouncing up to her.

Katsuko looked thoughtful for a few seconds. "It's been a long time. Since I was your age, anyway."

Mars and the others were watching the exchange in confusion. "Woe, wait a minute, who is this woman?" Mars demanded.

"I run the bar Darien has been frequenting for a couple of years, Serena's been going to for over a week and Amy's been working on a project for a couple of days there," The woman explained. "If you want to know more, you'll have to wait."

"What for?!" Mars demanded of her.

"I'm not the one wearing a lie." Katsuko turned away, walking back towards the starry sphere. "The truth comes not for free. Besides which, I can't turn off the astrolabe until you do."

"I think you'd better," Amy advised the other three scouts. After a few seconds the three remaining scouts shimmered, leaving Raye, Lita and Mina standing in their place. Serena quickly made the introductions.

Katsuko glanced back at the scouts, then waved her hand at the Astrolabe. Moments later the large globe faded from existence and the lights came up. The room was largely empty.

"Tried furnishing this room when I first moved in," Katsuko commented, looking around. "I accidently activated the Astrolabe in the middle of watching the news. Come on, lets go out to the balcony, I set drinks out on the table."

"Katsuko, do you know who used to own this place?" Serena asked as they followed her.

"The millionaire Maxfield Stanton, whoever he was. He left the way he arrived, in a shroud of mystery. Of course, this place makes me wonder who he really was."

Raye snorted. "He was a general for the nega-verse," she commented. "I surprised you couldn't find that out."

"My resources are great, but we've stayed out of your fights," Katsuko replied. She lead then through an ornate set of glass doors onto a moonlit balcony. A white table sat in the centre of the balcony, surround by seven chairs. Upon the table sat seven glasses of a red liquid and two bowls of milk.

"Why the milk?" Mina asked, spotting the last items on the table.

Katsuko shrugged. "Just a feeling. For some reasons I thought you might bring a pair of cats."

Darien and the girls looked a little uneasy for a few seconds before Artemis and Luna leapt onto the balcony from the bushes. "How did you know about us?" Artemis demanded, looking irritated.

Katsuko, for her part, looked like she had just received the shock of her life. "Moon cats, of course, moon cats," she muttered. "Makes sense."

Luna gave gazed at her through slitted eyes. "You didn't know about us?" she demanded.

"And, how would I know the Scouts had moon cats with them? It's not as if you appear in the news." Katsuko slid into one of the table seats, and took a sip from her glass. "Please don't pull surprises like that on me, my heart's not as strong as it used to be." She looked at the still standing group. "Take a seat, don't stand on ceremony."

Darien and the girls took seats while the cats leapt onto the table. Artemis immediately sampled one of the bowls of milk. "Good," he commented.

Lita held up her glass and looked at the liquid inside. "What is it?" she asked suspiciously.

"Blackcurrant juice, I would offer you wine, but I think you'd prefer to be sober," Katsuko took another sip from her glass. "Now I suppose you'd like me to explain things to you."

"That would be nice," Raye snapped.

Katsuko shot her a glare, then stared into the red liquid in her glass. "No one, even back then, knew how it started..."

*****

...it was a time almost before time, back when humanity really could call the sol system its home. The various planetary systems had yet to unify under the banner of the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millennium.

The folk of Mercury had long since isolated themselves deep with their world's catacombs. They preferred to study the cosmos in peace, away from the politics of the planets. Contact was so rare that it was public belief that they didn't exist, and that may have been what saved them.

The Plutoians were equally isolated, although not by choice. A combination of distance and their attitude made them unapproachable by most people. Even in the eyes of most governments they were viewed with mistrust.

The inhabitants of the Jovian system were hardy, if provincial, individuals. They had learnt to tame the power of the red storm, and used it to ease their lives. Living in small communities, the Jovians were loathe to accept strangers, leaving them, at the beginning out of the wars of the planets.

Neptune and Uranus had been fighting since memory began. Neither planet could remember the original dispute, but the rivalry had permeated to almost every part of their societies. Even they didn't cause much worry. Typically the two worlds found contests to prove their superiority and war was never declared.

The ruling house of Saturn was almost permanently fractured by strife. Civil wars were common, as one faction tried to out manoeuvre another for power. Thankfully the secrets of Saturn's magic were a carefully kept secret and never became a weapon.

Of all the worlds only Mars and Venus regularly came to blows. The Martian theocracy and Venusian council disagreed on everything, often violently. It took very little to set them to fighting.

It was to this stage of isolationists and fighting that a new alliance between the Earth and Moon Kingdoms wished to bring peace. They dispatched envoys to both Mars and Venus, thinking that bringing peace between them would set an example for the rest of the system.

The ambassador to Mars never returned. However the Venusian envoy had better luck. He had discovered a frightening truth, the Venusian council were not, in truth, controlling Venus.

Retreating for a time, the Earth and the Moon needed to decide what to do with this information. Obviously they would have to locate whatever force was controlling Venus. The two Kingdoms pooled their resources and dispatched a number of spying missions into both Mars and Venus space.

Evidence of the devils and angles interference came to light. The King of Earth and Queen of the Moon faced a difficult choice. In the end they decided to declare war upon both Mars and Venus, in order to free humanity from the control of the invaders.

The chips immediately began to fall. Neptune announced its alliance to Venus the same day Uranus declared their own pact with Mars. Jupiter, strangely, joined the Earth and Moon, where their help was greatly needed.

While the forces of Earth and Jupiter fought a war on two fronts, the Queen of the Moon concentrated her resources on gathering intelligence on their true enemies. In those days their were no royal guardians like in the Silver Millennium. However the Queen had collected a strange group as Advisors. They were outcasts from the other worlds, and for reasons of their own they had agreed to serve the moon.

Under their advice the Queen formed a small task force of mages. She needed people she could trust, both with the fate of humanity and to keep her actions secret. Two of her choices came from amongst the children of her advisors. The third she chose from her own family. Of course she couldn't send the heir apparent, however she had adopted a child she had found floating in a wrecked ship. No one knew that child's heritage, but there was a strange power in her.

The Warriors each took new names to hide their identities. Mystra, Phasma and Astra they named themselves.

*****

"I won't bore you with the tale of the war," Katsuko continued, swirling the glass of juice in front of her. "Needless to say, the Warriors found that the devils and angles came from other universes that briefly touched upon ours. With the help of Plutoian and Mercurian mages they found a way to push the realities apart.

"The Warriors of Ether died in the attempt. While they were able to close the doors the angles and devils used to come into our world, hey couldn't lock them. It was discovered that, given time the invaders would return.

"Somehow, the spirit of the first Astra knew that, and refused to continue onto her next life. She infused the locket of," Katsuko paused, "one of my ancestors, giving her the powers of Astra." Katsuko pulled a small silver locket from under her top. It was the shape of a tear drop, and gleamed in the moonlight.

"Once every three hundred years a member of my family is born with the power of foresight. She can see the future, but only imperfectly and never far. It is a curse as much as a gift, because she will live, never aging, until her successor is found and taught. If she fails to find a successor, she lives until she does, always young." Katsuko stood and wandered over to lean on the balcony railing.

"Three hundred years is a long time," she sighed, gazing into the star filled sky.

Silence covered the group for a time.

"Katsuko, how old are you?" Amy ventured.

Katsuko turned back to face the group, elbows resting on the railing. "How old do I look?" she inquired.

Amy shrugged. "Thirty maybe," she replied hesitantly.

Katsuko shook her head. "Ten times that. My successor has been born, I just need to hand over the reigns. Of course I can't do that until after this is finished."

"A more important question is how did the first Astra defeat our enemies," Luna stated, getting up from her empty bowl.

Katsuko hung her head. "I have no idea," she admitted. "While my family has persevered a lot from before the fall of silver millennium, that most important piece of knowledge is lost. We'll have to figure out something ourselves."

Amy frowned. "We'll need to find their entrance into this world and analyse it. Worst comes to the worst we can try pushing all our power through the silver crystal again."

Serena paled, but her reaction went unnoticed by the other. Darien shook his head. "That should be an absolute last resort, it may not succeed and will probably kill us."

"We fought the thirst..." Luna muttered, a look of concentration on her face. "How does that poem go?"

"We fought the thirst, a life passed to quench it. We faced a hunger, a death did sate it. The storm it raged, in madness it stopped. The light it cut us, in pain we prevailed. These trials we faced, so the stars could die." Katsuko voice had been soft during her recitation.

Luna shook her head. "Its important, I think."

"It was the ramblings of the only survivors of the that final battle." Katsuko sighed. "The Warriors of Ether were aided by two others, they made it out alive, but refused to say more than that poem."

Raye glanced at Serena, then back at Katsuko. "Its interesting, but not very helpful."

Mina nodded. "She's right, we have to start making plans. To start with we have to find Phasma and Mystra."

"Katsuko, do you know them?" Serena asked.

"As far as I knew, they died millennia ago. Their transformation artifacts were recovered and are currently being held in a vault in Germany. I can get them couriered here, but that doesn't explain why Phasma turned up today."

"Perhaps her situation is like what mine was when all the trouble started," Darien suggested.

The scouts nodded, but Katsuko looked confused. "I'm sorry, I don't understand."

"At first I was totally unaware of who I was, other than a few strange dreams. Every time Sailor Moon was in trouble I'd become Tuxedo Mask and hurry off to save her. In neither form could I remember the other." Darien explained. "Maybe the spirit of Phasma was reincarnated in this era, and was awoken by the battle. It was the largest fight we've had in a civilised area."

"Not to mention it involved her enemies," Amy added.

Katsuko nodded. "Its as good an answer as anything else. I'll get their artifacts sent over, they'll probably arrive in a few days."

Serena suddenly gave a wide yawn. "Oh, sorry."

"No, I'm keeping you up. You'd all best head home before you fall asleep," Katsuko suggested. "You're welcome here anytime, but don't forget, I have a bar to run."

*****

Aki and Fujiko watched as the numbers scrolled past on the screen. They had spent the whole day analysing the data they had collected during the battle. Fujiko's lab, filled with all the gadgets the young mad scientist could want, was dimly lit, the pair sitting at the computer had yet to notice that night had fallen.

"Yes! Yes! YES!" cried Fujiko. "Seperate readings on eight of the scouts and their friends, and five of their enemies. Aki, that place was perfect! We're geniuses I tell you, geniuses!" Fujiko let out a wave of her spine chilling laughter.

"Yeah," Aki commented, wincing at her laughter. "But it'll take months to analyse this data."

"Aha, not so, already I have spotted a pattern. Give me a few hours and I'll have figured out the Quantum secret of magic." Fujiko laughed once more.

"Fine, wake me when you're done," Aki returned, stumbling towards a cot in the corner.

*****

Gabriel frowned as Arthiel gave her report. While he could not fault the dedication of his troops, the uncalled for battle had ruined his latest plan. Fortunately it seemed their opponents had suffered a similar setback.

"It is obvious that we will continue to encounter problems of this nature," he told her once she finished. "We will need to seek another way to influence these humans. I charge you with this mission."

Arthiel bowed before him. "I will bend all my powers to your will my lord, I shall not fail."

"Dismissd," he declared.

Arthiel bowed again, then turned to pass once more through the mists bounding Gabriel's office. Moments later the mists parted again to reveal a male angle standing in full armour. He strode into the office.

"Your will, my lord?" the newcomer inquired.

"Micheal, you heard her report." It was a statement, not a question.

"Depressing news my lord, but typical of our warriors I'm afraid," Micheal, second lord of the angles replied.

"Yes, they are as they are. Arthiel will be an effective foil to human's champions, these Sailor Scouts and those blasted Warriors of Ether. I want you to start building up our human followers, we will see how these Scouts deal with that." Gabriel's grin could only be called evil.

*****

The rooms beneath the church were plush. Obviously the negaverse general who had owned it before was a man used to opulence. For the most part Katsuko didn't care. You got used to sleeping rough after three hundred years.

A small shrine sat in one of the smaller rooms. It components had recently been retrieved from various storage vaults, where they had sat, carefully protected, for most of Katsuko's long life. Above the shrine sat the most important thing in her life, a portrait of a woman, six years younger than Katsuko's apparent twenty-eight.

Katsuko knelt, praying at the shine. It had been a long time since she had performed such a simple, yet profound, action. Learning the true history of the world had severely disrupted her religious conviction. Still it wasn't to a god she prayed.

Standing, Katsuko gazed at the painting. "It's been a long time. I sometimes wish I'd never been chosen, then of course I meet people like the Scouts. They're what make it all worthwhile. You'd like the girls, I think. A little too independent maybe."

She sighed and looked down at the ground. "I'm sorry I left you, but she was right, I couldn't bare the thought of watching you age. How was I to know that fate dictated that you were to die so young?"

"A few more years, beloved Sakura, just a few more. I shall find my successor, and then we shall be together once more in the next life." Katsuko bowed to the painting and shrine, then walked back towards the door. She stopped, hand resting on the light switch, her gaze once more at the picture of her long dead sister. A twitch of her hand plunged the room into darkness.

*****

At three almost every afternoon the Pigeon's Nest experienced a lull. The last of the lunch crowd had packed off back to their jobs, the local students had yet to get out of classes and the cafe crew had yet to show up.

Katsuko sighed and flopped into a chair. The lull was viewed as a blessing amongst the staff. Business usually had them on their feet constantly, often working straight through their breaks. Katsuko, though, was not usually in such a bad way.

"Are you okay?" Junko, Katsuko's waitress, asked, sliding into the chair opposite.

"A few too many late nights," Katsuko replied, letting out a deep breath.

"Late nights, us, never!" Junko gasped in mock shock.

"Okay, maybe early days. I can't believe I was up and busy in the middle of yesterday morning," Katsuko returned. The pair smiled and laughed.

"Nice to see someone having some fun," a kindly voice cut through their laughter. They turned to find Koan Nakata standing at the employee door, a fair haired gaijin woman standing behind him.

"Just relaxing for a moment, oh great and kind leader," Katsuko joked. "Who's your friend?"

Koan stepped into the barroom, the woman following. "This is Arianna, I've hired her to assist the cooks, you know, ease their load."

Katsuko's brow furrowed. "I didn't know you were looking for a new cook."

"I've been thinking about it for a while. When Arianna came in looking for work, I decided to snap her up while she was available," Koan told her.

Katsuko nodded. "If you say so Koan." She turned to look at Arianna. "Welcome aboard, I'm sure you'll be a great asset."

The new woman smiled. "May I ask, what foods come in here?" she asked in crisp Japanese.

"Snacks, sandwiches, small things like that, it keeps down the work we need to do. Besides which, there's a perfectly good restaurant right next door," Katsuko replied.

"I see, thank you," Arianna gave Katsuko a small bow. "Mr Nakata, perhaps we should continue our tour."

Katsuko and Junko watched as the pair once more headed into the rear of the restaurant.

"Strange woman," Katsuko commented.

"There's an understatement," Junko added. /PRE HR PA HREF=""Warriors of Ether/A A HREF=""Next Part/A/P pA HREF="../.."Home/A A HREF=".."Fanfiction Home/A/P /BODY /HTML


	6. Chapter 6

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 6

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

Author's Note: Don't worry, this is as close to a cross-over that this series is going to get.

*****

Raye Hino looked at the mess of a temple courtyard. Despite council promises of help, or perhaps because of it, a week had passed without repairs beginning. The battle between the angles, devils and the scouts had left the courtyard full of holes., Thankfully the temple building had been repaired, or else sleeping at night would have been drafty.

"Hey, Raye!" Her head shot up when she heard Serena's voice. Raye almost had to smile when she saw her four friends standing at the temple gate.

Mina, the only member of the scouts to be seriously hurt, still walked with exaggerated care. Raye guessed her bruises still hadn't faded. Artemis was probably a little grateful, seeing as Mina wasn't swinging his basket all over the place as she usually did. Luna was along too, draped over Serena's shoulder as usual. Raye just had to wonder how comfortable that was. The small group weaved there way across the battlefield to Raye.

"So, Serena, what plan have you come up with to take my mind off things?" Raye asked when they got to her.

"This," the blonde announced, shoving a brightly coloured piece of paper into Raye's face.

Raye pushed Serena's hand back so that she could see it. She mumbled as she read, then turned to look at her friend. "A school fair?" she repeated incredulously. "In Nerima? Where'd you get this?"

Amy smiled. "Someone had dropped a number of them into the Pigeon's Nest. Serena saw one last night, and called the rest of us."

"Yeah, she wanted to surprise you," Lita added.

Raye sighed. Her chances of talking them out of it were slim. Of course there was one avenue she could try. "What do you think about this Luna? Shouldn't we stay in Juuban in case something happens."

Luna did her best to shrug. "I think you girls should go have fun, I'm sure Katsuko can handle anything that comes up."

"Yeah, and take us with you!" a voice piped up from Mina's basket. Artemis poked his head out, grinning, and immediately pulled it back in when Luna glared at him.

Raye nodded, knowing she was defeated, but not really caring. "Okay then, I'll just go tell grandpa."

*****

Junko fiddled impatiently. She had already flicked through the magazines in the office, they would have been more interesting if the martial artists in them hadn't been wearing shirts. She glanced around the room, wondering what was taking Katsuko so long.

The school's receptionist glanced over at the hyperactive youth. "I'm sure she won't be much longer. Tell me, why don't you go outside and enjoy yourself?" the woman asked.

"Oh, I couldn't, I promised Katsuko I'd wait," Junko informed her sincerely.

"Well, these things can take some time," the secretary explained in a comforting voice.

As if on cue the door to the inner office opened, admitting Katsuko and the schools personnel officer.

"... I'm glad to give you the job." The latter was saying. "Frankly it'll be a relief to have someone on the staff who can fight."

Katsuko smiled and shook her head. "This'll be the first time I ever got a teaching job with that criteria."

"Yes, well, the staff are caught between two warring factions, the principle and the students, and with all the martial artists around it really is a war."

Katsuko nodded again. "Well I'll be glad to help. Pity I can't start for a couple of months."

"Yes, well, I'll see you in a few months then."

The two bid each other goodbye, then Katsuko turned to Junko. While the youth had decided to wear a normal dress, a cute little yellow thing with bows, Katsuko had come in a formal Kimono. Junko was surprised to find that Katsuko, seemingly a modern woman, seemed almost at ease as she glided around in the traditional attire.

Junko positively bounced over to her friend, smiling happily. "Come on, the fair's started already, lets go play!" she demanded in a way usually only children could manage.

"Okay Junko, I suppose I promised." Katsuko sighed and let herself be dragged from the office and through the building.

The school fields were packed with stalls and people. The nattering of hawkers attracting customers filled the air along with the smells of exotic foods. Bright colours and flashing lights dazzled the onlookers into playing the various games on offer. All the proceeds from the stalls went to the clubs, so it was all in a good cause.

"Oh, look at that!" cried Junko. "Come on Katsuko!" She grabbed Katsuko's arm and pulled her towards one of the stalls. As they approached Katsuko could easily see what had caught her friends attention. Sitting in a position of honor was a stuffed panda only slightly smaller than a person.

Junko wilted when she saw the game in the stall. "Ow, its a dart toss, I'm no good at that," she whined.

"Have a go anyway young lady," the student behind the counter suggested. "You never know you might get lucky."

Junko perked up. "Okay!" she exclaimed enthusiastically, handing over a coin.

As the student handed over three darts, Katsuko started looking around the other stalls. She heard two soft twacks and a startled cry. Turning back she found an unhappy Junko standing frowning at the dart board, and the student operating the stall hiding beneath the counter. The first of the darts had struck the five wedge of the dart board, unfortunately it was the board next to the one Junko had been aiming at. The second dart was buried in the wood panel very close to one of the soft toy prizes. Of the third dart there was no sign.

"Damn!" swore Junko, stamping her foot.

"How much for the panda?" Katsuko asked of the student.

"Three bullseyes," he replied, poking his head up over the counter. "But I'm not letting her throw again."

Katsuko nodded. "Okay, give me three," she ordered, pulling out a coin. She took the darts from the nervous student, taking a step back. The student had a strange sinking feeling as he watched his latest customer take up a stance and gently weight the dart in one hand.

*****

Serena, Amy, Raye, Mina and Lita stood at the Furnikan High gates, gazing at all the colour. The trip from Juuban had been long and boring. Raye's temper had quickly worn thin, and the others found themselves hoping that the fair was worth it. It looked like they weren't going to be disappointed.

Serena sniffed the air. "Hmm, food," she commented. "Let's eat!"

"Typical Serena," grumbled Raye, "always thinking with her stomach."

"Actually Raye, I think it's be good to stop for lunch," Amy put in.

"Yeah," Mina agreed vocally. "Then we can have some fun."

Raye shook her head as the others trooped off, following Serena's nose. It wasn't long before they found a pair of food stalls. The banner above one proclaimed the stall as Ucchan's Okonomikya, the second was from a restaurant called the Cat Cafe. As the girls stood discussing the choices Lita noticed something strange heading towards them.

She blinked a couple of times, but it remained. "Uh, tell me, is there a huge stuffed Panda headed this way?" she asked the others in a distant tone.

The other four girls turned to find that there was indeed a stuffed panda the size of a person making its way through the crowd towards them. As it got to the open area a familiar figure stepped out from behind it, although a restraining hand placed on the shoulder of whoever was behind it.

"Katsuko?!" the five girls chorused.

Katsuko, hearing her voice, turned to see them. She waved and directed whoever was carrying the panda towards them.

"Hello girls, nice to see you. Surprising, but nice," she smiled.

"Hey, watch it!" Lita snapped as the panda bumped into her.

"Sorry," came the muffled voice from behind the toy. "Can't see a thing from back here."

"That voice is familiar," Serena commented. "Who's back there?"

The panda rotated itself to reveal Junko clutching the Panda's back. She had turned her head so she could see off to one side, and it could be seen that she wore a large smile on her face. "Hey, its Serena and her friend Amy," she announced, somehow brightening her smile.

"Perhaps we should make some introductions," Katsuko suggested. "Girls, this is Junko, my friend and the barmaid at the Pigeon's Nest." Raye groaned and rolled her eyes.

Serena smiled and introduced her friends. "We were just about to get lunch, would you like to join us?"

Katsuko paused for a second. "What do you say Junko?"

"Sounds like a good idea," Junko exclaimed happily, "but someone's gonna have to carry mine for me."

It wasn't long before the group had brought their food and started looking for a place to eat. In the end they sat down on the embankment overlooking the lower field, where a ring had been set up. People had just started gathering so there was still a lot of space. Serena shovelled away her food while the others calmly ate and talked.

"Did you come just for the fair, Katsuko?" Raye asked between bites.

"No, I had business in Nerima," Katsuko replied, slowly shaking her head. "Junko and I had a day off, and seeing as I was coming here anyway she joined me."

"Glad I did to," Junko added, reclining against the oversized panda.

Luna and Artemis poked there heads sleepily out of Mina's carrying case. "Merrow?" the black cat asked.

"Oh, you brought your cats, cool," Junko leant past Lita to stroke the nearest furry head. Artemis seemed to enjoy the attention.

"Do you carry those two everywhere?" Katsuko asked, smiling in an attempt to hold back her laughter. "It can't be very comfortable for them." Luna and Artemis both gave that slit eyed, 'oh, you wouldn't believe it' stare.

Mina pulled a sour faced Luna from the basket. "This is Serena's cat, Luna." She passed him over to Junko, who dropped him in her laps and started stroking her. Luna looked almost looked pleased to by away from Mina. "And this," Mina announced, pulling Artemis from the basket, "is..."

"Maria!" another voice announced, and Artemis was snatched from Mina's hands. A cute girl in a frilly dress was standing behind the group cuddling the white moon cat a little to closely. Artemis, for his part, was trying not to make choking sounds that would give away the fact he could speak.

"Hey, give me back Artemis!" Mina demanded, jumping to her feet and turning on the girl.

"No, my Maria!" the girl stated and hugged Artemis even tighter.

"He's mine, and his name's Artemis!" Mina declared.

"My Maria!" the girl repeated.

"Artemis!" Mina was almost yelling.

"Maria!" the girl yelled.

"Ack!" Artemis croaked.

"Asuza, there you are," said a calm smooth voice. A handsome young man sauntered up to the arguing pair and extracted the cat from Asuza's arms. "Why must you always cause trouble?" He turned back to Mina. "I must apologise for my skating partner. She just gets this way sometimes." He handed the cat back to Mina. As he did so, he leaned close to her. "Perhaps, for such a pretty girl, I can apologise with a kiss."

Mina stood there not moving, holding Artemis to her chest, as the young man's lips came closer. She was totally taken in by his charm, and would have let him kiss her if his head hadn't suddenly been beaten into the ground by a plate.

"Give me back Maria!" Asuza demanded, holding the two halves of the broken plate.

The young man immediately popped back up and dragged the strange girl away, grumbling.

A small ripple of laughter passed through the assembled girls. Artemis, having been rescued from Asuza's crushing embrace, now found himself held in the tight embrace of someone gazing longingly after the retreating boy.

"He's cute," Mina sighed.

Artemis "ack"ed once more, then nipped Mina's arm. She immediately realised him with a cry of surprise.

"What did you do that for?" she snapped angrily.

"It was probably because you were cutting off his breathing," Raye pointed out. Artemis shot Mina a glare over his shoulder before scampering back into the basket.

Mina dropped back into a sitting position. "I didn't even get his name," she pouted.

Lita laughed. "Girl, you've got your priorities skewed. Get his name before you get the kiss."

Katsuko leaned forward, staring at the ring. "Looks like they're getting ready to start their main event," she commented. She turned her gaze to the large crowd that now sat round them. "Looks like its popular around here."

"Remember what that woman said about martial artists," Junko commented. "You know, how there were lots around here."

Katsuko nodded in thought. "You're right, this may actually be interesting."

"I didn't know you were interested in martial arts," Lita said.

Katsuko waved dismissively. "Just something I picked up over the years."

Below in one corner of the ring a small group had gathered. A teenaged boy stood in the ring, leaning against the ropes, talking to those about him. There seemed to be a heated discussion between the boy and a girl, apparently the same age. It wasn't long before the argument ended with the girl mallet the boy (where did that mallet come from?) and stalking off. Moments later the boy was helped to his feet by...

"A panda?" Lita asked incredulously.

The others, who'd been been chatting away and generally not paying attention, turned to look where Lita was staring in wide eyed shock. Sure enough, what looked like a big panda bear was standing at the edge of the ring, holding up a sign. If the group had been able to read the sign they would have been surprised to see that it read "Are you okay boy?"

"That has got to be a man in a suit," Amy commented. "No one would let a panda wonder around a school fair."

Katsuko peered down at the bear. "Pretty convincing suit as far as I can see."

A second young man carrying a bullhorn walked out into the centre of the ring. Moments later the first young man, seeming to have recovered perfectly from the malleting, walked out to join him.

"Come," the student yelled through the bullhorn, and was immediately drowned out by the squeals of feedback. He fiddled with the loud hailer while dodging missiles thrown by the audience. "Come one, come all, to the greatest show in Nerima. We have prizes to give away, and all you have to do to get them is last thirty seconds in the ring with the great Ranma Saotome!" There was a small commotion on one side of the ring and everyone could see that a small knot of contestants had already formed. "I've got an idea, why don't we give anyone who just gets in the ring a free visit to Doctor Tofu." A small ripple of laughter passed through the crowd. "There's only one thing folks, a chance at Ranma will cost you five hundred yen." The group of contestants didn't seem to be getting any bigger.

"Looks like they won't be getting a lot of money," Mina commented.

"The real money is in concessions," Amy commented, pulling a book from her bag and opening it.

"What?" Mina asked, confused.

"She means selling snacks and drinks," Raye explained.

"Oh, I see," Mina declared, then turned to look for someone selling snacks and drinks.

Katsuko and Lita were watching with intense interest as the first challenger entered the ring. He was wearing samurai robes and carrying a bokken.

"That doesn't seem fair," Lita commented.

"The boy seems confident," Katsuko pointed out.

The samurai lasted twenty seconds, before flying out of the ring.

Lita sat staring at the ring. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but the fight was an impressive display.

"That had to be fake," she decided.

"I don't know," Junko commented, thinking back to the waiting room. "They seem quiet keen on their martial arts here."

"Fascinating, that looked like Anything Goes," Katsuko muttered.

The fights continued, and it didn't take much to realise that the champion was merely playing with most of them. While there were a large number of contestants, a small number kept coming back, the samurai was one, a young man in Chinese robes and a few other strange boys. The battles tended to take most of the thirty seconds, but end very suddenly, as Ranma suddenly took out his opponent.

Everyone gave a startled jump when Katsuko's kimono started beeping loudly. The nearby crowd turned to stare at her as she reached in and searched for something. It was only a few moments before she pulled out a cellphone and silenced it with a button push.

"Yes," she demanded of the small device, there was a short pause. "This had better be important, this number is only for emergencies." The scouts watched Katsuko, her face growing darker as she listened. "Damn," she swore at last, "I'll have to come in."

"Trouble?" Amy asked.

"Yes," Katsuko replied angrily. "The stockmarket just took a turn for the worse. My investment advisor wants to talk about the repercussions." The girls all sighed in relief. "Junko, I have to go back home, do you to come with me, or stay with here and catch the train home with the others?"

Junko looked thoughtful for a few moments, glancing at the stuffed panda then about them. "I think I'd better go back with you in the car, I don't want to be carrying this all day."

Katsuko nodded. "Okay, lets go. See you girls."

Luna leapt off the small girls lap. Junko lifted her panda once more, and with Katsuko leading her, managed to totter off. The five girls left behind watched them leave before turning their attention back to the fight.

"You know he reminds of my old boyfirend," Lita commented, staring dreamily at Ranma.

The other four girls, plus the two cats, looked at her and groaned.

*****

Sunset cast the a red hue to the landscape as it speed past. Inside the train the five exhausted teenagers relaxed after a long day.

Mina sighed as she stared out the window. Her elbows rested on the window sill, her chin in her hands. She gazed out the window into the darkening sky, and let out another big sigh.

"I'll probably never see him again," she sighed.

"And I thought Lita was bad," Artemis commented, a little too loudly.

"Hey!" both girls complained, looming over the cheeky cat. Artemis quickly scrambled away before things got violent and settled next to Luna, hiding under the chair.

"That wasn't a very smart thing to say Artemis," Luna commented, glaring at the other cat.

"It got her out of her funk," the cat commented.

"I suppose so." Luna nodded. "I'm glad they enjoyed today, despite Mina's search for that young man."

Artemis looked at her quizzically. "That sounds ominous."

Luna frowned. "I know, I just feel like this might be the last chance they get to have fun for awhile."


	7. Chapter 7

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 7

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

The sun peeked through the crack between the curtains. Outside the birds serenaded the people as they hurried about their business. Outside not a cloud hung in the sky. Inside Serena snored.

Luna lay on the bed, paws covering her ears as her charge slept in. She'd learnt to live with this on holidays, although recently Serena had been getting up early for one reason or another. Like taking Raye to the fair. That had been a good idea, the girls had managed to spend a day not worrying about monster attacks. And for once there hadn't been any.

Serena continued to sleep. Her mother had long since given up trying to wake her and Luna had never tried, but that didn't mean she had to wait around listening to Serena snore. The black cat got to her paws and stretched in the way only cats can, then leapt to the floor. Without a sound she padded to the windows and leapt up to it. She glanced back at her sleeping charge before jumping out.

*****

Neatness and simplicity were the words that immediately occured to anyone entering the room. Amy preferred it that way, an ordered room minimised the distractions when you worked. Against one wall, next to her desk, was a shelf full of books. She had never felt the need to alphabetise them, that seemed just a little too much effort, but they were arranged in subjects, chemistry, physics, computer science, biology and the couple of fiction books she had brought on impulse.

Amy herself sat the desk busily working away at some practice problems. No professor or teacher had set these, it being the holidays and all, but Amy felt she needed to keep her skills up.

The thump of a bird crashing into her window disrupted her chain of thought. Amy glared at the window, then back at her work. Her study mood was gone now, and it would take some time before she could get it back.

"Ah, well, I guess I can go for that walk early," she said to herself. Amy stood at and stretched, then leaned forward to look at her books. She carefully laid bookmarks into each one, then closed them and left them sitting in a neat pile on the desk.

*****

Mina sighed deeply. 'Beautiful days like this should be spent with a guy,' she thought bitterly, looking out over the park. Many couples were out enjoying a lunch time stroll along the lake or through the trees. Unlike them, Mina was only depressed by the beautiful sights.

'Why can't I be like Serena and have a guy destined to love me,' she thought bitterly. 'Even Amy has better luck than me, though Greg did leave her.' A cute guy walked past. 'Then again.'

*****

Lita hummed merrily as she stirred the batter. She almost always mixed by hand. Oh, she could have used an electric mixer, but somehow that lacked something. She did own a mixer, even used it sometimes when she was pressed for time, but whenever she could she used the good old wooden spoon.

The cakes she was making was for the scout meeting they'd planned for the following day. What seemed like a long time had passed since she'd had no one to cook for.

She was still glad of the day when she met Serena. The strange loud mouthed girl had simply approached the new girl, fulling knowing about her reputation. They'd quickly found a common interest, a love for food, Serena eating and Lita cooking. One thing was for sure, as long as Serena was around Lita's food wouldn't go unappreciated.

*****

Raye frowned. Okay, yes so the reconstruction crew had arrived to fix the temple grounds at last, that was good, but did they have to make so much noise?!

The Miko stormed back into the temple, the sounds of jackhammers and concrete saws following her through the thin walls. Chad, for once noticing her mood, scampered out of the way.

'Why couldn't Serena have planned something for today instead of yesterday?!' Raye demanded silently. 'Then I wouldn't have to spend all day listening to that racket.' She stalked into her room and dropped onto the pillows. She grabbed a manga, one of the ones Serena had managed to spoil for her already, but found she couldn't concentrate.

Moments later the door slid open and grandpa poked his head into the room. "Raye, why don't you go shopping?" He asked, ignoring the scowl she directed at him. "We won't get many people stopping by with all the construction."

Raye groaned. "Okay grandfather."

*****

The streets were packed with people hurrying about their business. Amy, who wasn't in as much as a hurry as the rest of the pedestrians, was swept along by currents. After trying for several moments she finally managed get out of the stream of humans and into the calm of a shop.

The store was dark and a musty smell filled the air. Curios, pendants and charms hung from displays on the counter, while the wall behind it held shelves full of skulls, shrunken heads and stuffed animals. The last was not the cute type you find in toy stores, but the kind of thing a taxidermist worked on. A mad taxidermist.

"Welcome deary." The motherly voice issued from pile of clothes seated behind a table in one corner. On closer inspection it turned out to a woman wrapped in the trappings of a gypsy woman. "Come sit and let Madam Arcana read your fortune."

Amy, curious moved over to the table. A single chair sat opposite the woman and nothing sat upon the table. "Don't you want me to cross your palm with silver?"

Madam Arcana shrugged. "A few yen wouldn't go amiss."

Amy reached for her purse before remembering that she'd been on her way to the bank to get some spending money. The fair had been fun, but costly. She looked at the fortune teller and shrugged helplessly. "Sorry."

Arcana waved her hand dismissively. "Oh, never mind, I've had no customers all day, so giving away a freebie won't cost me. Besides which you might tell your friends about me."

Amy smiled and sat down before her. "Thank you."

The fortune teller pulled a set of cards from her sleeve. They weren't made from the flimsy cardboard that most decks were made of, instead thye looked almost antique. Amy could see that the back of the cards were ornately decorated with pictures of fawns playing in forests.

Madam Arcana took a card for the top of the deck. "This card defines you, the essentials that define the girl you are." She laid the card on the table. The picture showed the greek statue that bore the same name as the card. "The Thinker, symbol of intellectuals. You excel at academics, you prefer using you mind to solve your problems." She glanced at Amy, who didn't twitch at all. Arcana pulled a second card from the top of the deck, and placed it sideways across the first. The card showed a wolf standing proudly atop a rise. "The Wolf. In this position its suggests you are a loner, for some reason either fate or desire, you find yourself separate from the people around. Perhaps you spend too much time thinking, hmm?" The fortune teller again glanced up at Amy, who sat impassively.

"Now, to look at your past." Looking back at the table Arcana pulled a third card from the deck, placing it closer to herself. The picture was of a girl in a long dress with a golden circlet in her hair. "The princess, how unusual. Sometime in the past you were very important, something raised you above those around you. Yet, you weren't the most important person." Amy suppressed her reaction, this was starting to hit a little close to the truth. A fourth card was placed upon the third. Amy felt a chill run down her spine, the card bore an illustration of a ruined castle. "The ruins. Your importance was destroyed in a disaster of some kind. It was sudden, but there was the chance to rebuild." Amy continued to hold back reaction. A couple of years before she would have dismissed it as coincidence, but now, having met a talking cat and discovering she was the reincarnated princess of a long dead magical kingdom, she felt slightly ill-at-ease.

"Now to delve into your more recent past." The fifth card was placed on the table to the left of the original pile, creating a L shape pointing towards Arcana. The new card bore the picture of a ring of golden links.

"Is that suppose to indicate me falling in love?" Amy asked.

"No," Arcana replied. "The ring is a symbol of strength, but not individual strength. It is strength in numbers, the strength of good friends or co-workers. Strange, the wolf indicated that you're a loner." She lay a sixth card on the fifth. This one was of a warrior in a suit of armour holding aloft a sword. "The defender. Your new strength comes from defending something, obviously you and a group of others have banded together to protect what you hold dear." Amy nodded, forgetting to hide her reaction.

"The next two cards describe your present, how you are now." The new card was placed to the left of centre pile, forming a T pointing away from Amy. The card's name was The Warrior and depicted a man swinging a sword. "Hmm, the warrior. You fight for you're beliefs, while it is not part of you're core self, it is something you are forced to do." Without looking up at Amy she dealt another card upon the warrior. The picture of the western devil stared out of the card. "Not good. The devil signifies that whoever or whatever you are up against bares you ill-will. Whether or not you have the strength to prevail has yet to be seen." She dealt a card in front of Amy, completing a cross on the table.

Silence fell upon the pair. They both looked up into the other's eyes. "What's this supposed to mean? I have no future?" Amy inquired.

"No, no," Arcana assured her, but Amy detected a catch in her voice. "The void means that your future is uncertain. You are approaching a time of great choice, where the path of your life will be forever altered." Before Amy could comment she dealt another card. This one showed a stylised hour glass. "Time. Somehow time is involved in the uncertainty. Maybe your past interfering with your future or present. I don't know."

Amy looked at the flustered fortune teller. "Are you okay?" she asked, leaning forward.

"I don't know, usually interpreting the cards is easy, but every time I fix on something it slips through my fingers." She shook her head. "Its all very confusing."

Amy nodded. "Well, I was impressed by your reading anyway." She pushed her chair back and stood. "I'll be sure to tell my friends about you."

Within her cowl Arcana smiled. "Thank you child." She paused as Amy headed for the door. The fortune teller remained still until long after Amy had left. Finally she stood and moved to the door. The lock thudded into place as she turned the opened sign to closed. It had been a very draining afternoon.

*****

The Pigeon's Nest's bar was packed, but that wasn't unusual just before seven. Most of the regulars were in. Aki and his half crazed scientist girl firend talked animatedly with Tashiro, the old man seeming to be interested in their scientific theories about magic. The twins Jiro and Ichiro were laughing and joking with Junko whenever she was free, which wasn't often with this many patrons. The only one missing was Dominique, off on some fact gathering mission to the local library.

That left poor Namoyi sitting alone to work at her pictures. Not that she was bothered by that. She quite often spent time sitting at the bar either busily sketching or scanning the crowd for faces to include in her pictures. Tonight she was working on a still forming picture. It was one of the ones that seemed to draw itself, she had no idea what it was and probably wouldn't until she completed it.

The young artist paused her scribbling for a moment and reached out for her glass. She raised it to her lips, only to realise that it was empty. She'd spent so much time in the Pigeon's Nest, with the bartender who paid attention to everyone at the bar, that having an empty glass surprised her. She looked around, spotting Katsuko standing not far down the bar, a frown on her face.

"Ah, Katsuko, excuse me," she called, waving the glass at the woman.

Katsuko snapped out of her stupor, and looked over. She smiled and shook her head sadly before walking over. "Sorry Namoyi, I got a little distracted." She took the glass and started filling it.

"Well, just don't do it again," Namoyi scolded with mock seriousness.

"Yes, ma'am," Katsuko returned, smiling, passing the glass back to teenager.

Namoyi put down her sketch pad and pencil and took a sip from her drink. "Is something wrong Katsuko?"

Katsuko didn't answer. Namoyi looked up to find her friend had gone suddenly pale and was swaying slightly. She looked down to find Katsuko's white knuckles gripping the bar.

"Katsuko!" Namoyi cried.

The bartender blinked a couple of times. "I'm okay," she muttered, then collapsed to the ground.

"KATSUKO!" Namoyi was over the bar in seconds. She knelt beside her friend, ignoring the sudden silence descending over the room. Katsuko lay doubled over, clutching her chest, her face a mask of pain. Namoyi reached out and grabbed her arm

peace and contentment

a crystal city

a beautiful queen

birds singing

children laughing

couples walking beside a lake

a storm gathering

darkness falling

crystal groaning, cracking

people screaming

children dying

war and death

a frozen world

void

Namoyi blinked and swayed sightly. What had that been? A strange series of images cascading through her mind. How long had she been out?

"She okay Namoyi?" Tashiro asked, leaning over the bar.

Not long obviously. Namoyi glanced down at the woman lying on ground before her. She was still curled up, but her breathing was now regular and her face had softened.

"She seems to be getting better," Namoyi replied. Gently shaking Katsuko.

"Good. Junko, why haven't you called the ambulance yet?" Tashiro demanded of Katsuko's barmaid.

"No ambulances," Katsuko groaned. "I'll be fine." She reached out to grip Namoyi's shoulder. "Help me up will you."

Tashiro shook his head. "No way, girl, you're staying put."

"I tell you, it was nothing." Katsuko struggled to her feet. "I'm fine now."

Tashiro stood and waved his finger at Katsuko. "That was not nothing Katsuko," the old man told her. "You had some kind of seizure there, and you're not just going to shrug it off."

Katsuko shook her head. "I know what caused it, and there's nothing a hospital can do. I just need to rest. If you'll excuse me." The bartender stepped out from the bar. "Junko, tell Koan I've gone home." Katsuko strode out of the room.

Tashiro shook his head. "That is one stubborn lady."

"No argument here," Aki muttered.

Namoyi sighed and slowly walked back around the bar to take her seat. Somehow her drink had survived her flight over the counter. She picked up the glass and raised it up to her lips. It never got there. Her hand froze as she looked past the glass at the wall beyond. One of her own paintings sat there, it was of the Sailor Scouts and Tuxedo Mask. They were playing in a field, Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask standing side by side while the other four played with a young girl, but that wasn't what caught Namoyi's eye. In the distant background, just sitting there, was the crystal city. Her glass slipped from Namoyi's fingers.

"Katsuko!" Namoyi cried. She had made it to the employees only door before the glass hit the ground.

*****

Astra slipped over the rooftops. Thankfully the powers of Astra dulled her precognition to a degree, so she was no longer overwhelmed by feelings of wrongness as she had been in the bar. The images of a bleak future still shone in her memory. She had always been thankful for her little gift, but never before had she been cast down by its strength.

Being able to fly was useful, but you simply float through space. Throw away the obvious problems of people below looking up your robes, the real problems occurred when you arrived at your destination, along with whatever crowd had decided to follow you.

Flashes of coloured light and the sounds of combat ahead confirmed what Astra had already guessed. The Scouts had already arrived. Which meant that whatever was going to happen involved them. Great, as if she didn't have enough problems.

She soared across the space between the buildings. Approaching the combat scene and could almost pick out the voices yelling. She started murmuring prayers to every god she knew she hadn't pissed off in her life.

"MOON SCEPTRE ELIMINATION!" Sailor Moon's voice carried the distance between them. Moments later so did the massive roar and screams.

The her precognition flared once more, this time overpowering her. As the pain seared her soul her powers fled her, Astra vanishing to leave Katsuko Chino to fall to the rooftop, gasping in pain.

*****

"Witnesses report that the battle between the Sailor Scouts and the monster rampaging through the street mall ended when Sailor Moon struck down the beast, causing it to shatter. Unfortunately whoever or whatever had dispatched the beast had booby trapped it, and the scouts were consumed by a tornado.

"Thankfully no citizens were permanently hurt, most escaping with cuts and bruises and a small number rushed to hospital to be treated for broken bones or concussions. Also there sign of the five heroines that have reportedly been protecting this city for the past couple of years."

Katsuko reached up and turned off the TV. There were a number of complaints from the others in the hospital waiting room. Ignoring them she turned and walked over to the distraught young man pacing nearby.

"Is that helping Darien?" she inquired, watching him.

He stopped and stared at her. "I just feel so helpless. I should be out looking for them."

"Well, there's nothing we can do until Raye wakes up. She may be the only lead we have to finding the others." Katsuko, sat down in the seat next to the basket Darien had fetched from Serena's house. "We'll just have to wait."

"I know. Doesn't mean I have to like it."

*****

Rei Hino opened her eyes slowly. The light reflecting off the stark white ceiling stabbed at her eyes, causing her to wince and groan. She heard the rustle of clothes next to her.

"Raye, are you awake?" The voice, despite being old and quite, set her ears ringing. She groaned again.

"You are!" the old man cried, sending more lances through her head. "Hey, she's awake!" The speaker moved away as he spoke.

There was a clammer from outside, feet running, and the quiet murmur of other voices. Her head was starting to clear so she pushed herself off the bed.

She was in some kind of hospital room. The other bed was empty and the window was wide open, letting both fresh air and sunlight in. A group stood at the door.

Just inside the door was a funny old man wearing preist's robes, he was probably the one who had been sitting next to her. A scruffy young man, also wearing priest's robes, stared anxiously across the room at Rei. Next to him stood another young man that sent Rei's heart fluttering, he was dressed casually, like he had just been out jogging. Finally standing behind the two men was a woman wearing what looked like a very formal dress.

"Excuse me folks," said a jolly voice. "Let the doctor through."

The three blocking the door parted and a man in a white coat pushed his way in. The doctor walked over to the bed, picked up Rei's wrist. "How are you feeling?"

"A little groggy and my head hurts," Rei replied quietly.

"And tell me, what's the last thing you remember?"

Rei furrowed her brow. "I was at home studying biology. How did I get here?" she inquired quietly

"You don't remember the attack at the mall?"

Rei shook her head and immediately regretted it. "What would I be doing at the mall? I'm far to busy studying for summer school."

The old man crossed back to the bed, a worried expression on his face. "Raye honey, you don't go to summer school."

Rei looked at the strange old man quizzically. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"


	8. Chapter 8

Warriors of Ether

Chapter 8

By David Farr

Disclaimer: The characters of Sailor Moon belong to their copyright holder. They are used here with permission for fanfiction purposes.

*****

Katsuko reached up and felt along the top of the door frame. Sure enough she found the spare key amongst the dust. She paused and stared at the key sadly. Lita was the only member of the Sailor Scouts who didn't have someone checking up on her, a very depressing thought that Katsuko banished quickly.

The key slid into the lock and the door opened with a click. A gentle push swung the door open to reveal the empty apartment. Even unoccupied for a couple of days, the apartment still carried the smell of cooking. With a smile Katsuko remembered Serena's tales of Lita's meals.

"Hello? Lita? You home?" Katsuko called hopefully. It was always possible that Lita hadn't been able to answer the door.

The apartment stayed silent. Frowning Katsuko started looking around. The main room held a simple stereo and Television, a few pieces of furniture. A bag sitting on the sofa turned out to contain exercise clothes.

Katsuko swept into the kitchen. It was the work place of a master cook. Utensils hung from hooks; a spice rack held a large selection of condiments, all neatly arranged. The stove was well cleaned and the only thing on the bench was a plate full of small cakes.

The bedroom was sparse, just a bed and a wardrobe. A set of night clothes had been set out on a chair, waiting to be worn.

The bathroom contained only a shower and a vanity. Katsuko checked to make sure Lita's toothbrush was still there. It was.

Katsuko sighed. Just like the other three scouts Lita had simply vanished. The only good thing was that with Lita there was no family left behind to worry. Some comfort.

*****

Luna sat watching Raye. Unfortunately so did Chad. 'Two days,' she fumed silently. 'They haven't left her alone for two days!'

After the hospital had released Raye to her Grandfather's care Luna had hung about waiting for a few minutes alone with her in order to try the Luna Mind Meld. Only Chad and Raye's grandfather hadn't left her alone for more than a minute.

All four of the remaining scout mainstays were starting to run out of patience. Both Darien and Artemis had taken to vanishing off on searching missions. Katsuko was spending her time a little more constructively, using her family connections to put out feelers. Luna still felt that Raye was their best lead.

"Raye, what are you reading?" Chad asked, leaning to look over the girl's shoulder.

Raye looked up from the book and smiled pleasantly at Chad. "Advanced Data Communication Standards," she replied in a quite voice.

Chad stared at her in disbelief. Luna sighed, sometimes she wondered about that boy. After two days Raye's strange behaviour shouldn't surprise him, yet here he was looking like a stunned fish.

The ring of the phone snapped Chad out of it. He shook his head, stood and strode out of the room. Luna's ears pricked up, listening to the phone conversation. It sounded like the beginning of a long discussion, so Luna decided to seize the day.

Luna leapt up onto the table and walked proudly onto Raye's book.

Raye smiled at her. "What do you want kitty?"

"Raye, we have to talk," Luna announced.

The surprised girl shot backwards. "You-you talked!"

"Yes, as I said, we have to talk about you and the scouts."

"What would I have to do with the scouts?"

Luna rolled her eyes. "You're Sailor Mars!"

Raye smiled and shook her head. "Me, Sailor Mars? I don't think so, she's so... so... fiery, I don't think I could be like that."

Luna looked down at the table. Well talking wasn't going to help, she'd knew it would come to this. She quickly raised her head and locked eyes with Raye. The crescent moon on her forehead shone, then shot beam of light at the girl.

Almost immediately she felt resistance. This wasn't a simple case of dredging up repressed memories, instead something, a spell, was working against her, attempting to keep Raye in her other persona. But the spell wasn't evil, in fact it somehow felt familiar.

In Rei's mind the dam shattered, and for a brief moment Rei fought Raye. Backed by the force of Luna's mind the girl's true self quickly overcame the other personality to regain her body.

Luna collapsed to the table as the link broke. The battle had been hard and she was just a little cat.

"Luna?" Raye asked, her voice shaking. "What's happening?"

Luna looked up, here heart filling with dismay. "I was hoping you'd be able to tell me."

"What do you mean?"

"Raye, the others are all missing. You were our only hope for a lead."

"Missing, how?"

"I think we should get Katsuko, Darien and Artemis in on that discussion."

"Right!"

Behind them the door was quickly pulled closed and Chad walked back to the phone to slam it down on the hook. What he had seen confused him, but he wasn't just going to confront Raye with tales of a talking cat, she'd say he was crazy.

Raye threw the doors open. "Chad!" she snapped. "I'm going out and don't argue."

Chad smiled to himself. The old Raye was back.

*****

Imp crawled into the fiery office of the Lord of Hell. The large demonic entity sat behind his desk, reading a report from one of his generals.

Imp cleared his throat. "My Lord. I have some ah... mixed news."

Lucifer look up at the scrawny creature. "What is it Imp?"

Imp glanced around nervously. "Well, ah, the human heroes known as the Sailor Scouts seem to have been defeated. Spies report that they were lost in a battle three days ago."

"Surely this is good news."

"Yes, it would, but you see, it wasn't by us."

Lucifer leaned forward. "So the Angels have the power to destroy them."

"Ah, no, it wasn't them either."

Lucifer laughed. "Your telling me that they were defeated by a natural monster?!"

"I don't know master, but if so, it worries me that such power exists in the world now."

"You worry too much Imp. Come, we must plan to take advantage of the humans' weakness."

*****

The park had been a special place for them, somehow Darien had hoped that whatever had happened to her, Serena would remember and be their. It had been a false hope. Couples walked the paths, laughing and giggling in the sunshine, but nowhere was the lost girl Darien loved so much.

Screams broke Darien's pensive mood. He orientated quickly on the sound and charged off, deviating only to dive through some bushes and emerge as Tuxedo Mask.

The source of the commotion was a group of park goers. A single winged female stood atop the fountain. Rainbows of light reflected through the Angels watery body as she directed jets of water at those around her.

"Do not run, my waters bring only peace," the creature called to the fleeing people.

"These people don't want your peace!" Tuxedo Mask sneered, tossing a rose at creature. The projectile struck the creature passing right its liquid body.

Another voice laughed from above. "Not very useful without your girlfriends, are you?"

The lone hero looked up, to find a second Angel hovering above him. This one was also a woman, but more human looking. She had golden blonde hair that streamed in the wind and a haughty look on her beauteous face. Despite the massive armour and sword at her hip her wings lazily bet against the air.

"I am Arthiel, Lieutenant of the Angel Gabriel, and you, Tuxedo Mask, are all alone." The Angel sneered. "What are you going, throw roses at us?"

Tuxedo Mask smiled. "No, just keep you and your flunky busy until the people escape." He looked around at the empty park. "Wow, I guess I have."

Glancing about her Arthiel searched the park. "Yes, you have, but no matter, this was never about them. Where are your girlfriends? Have they abandoned you?"

"Hardy," yet another voice commented. All eyes turned to find two figures standing in the trees. The speaker wore the familiar red and orange skintight outfit of Phasma, the other was dress in a dark blue robe that hung open revealing another skintight wrap. The newcomers hood was down, revealing raven black hair streaming over a simple mask strapped across her face.

"The baptism is a sacred rite for many, bringing them closer to their beliefs," the newcomer preached, "yet you use it to force your beliefs upon others. I, the Warrior of Ether Mystra, born of the seas of the mind, cannot allow this!"

Arthiel growled. "What is it with you people and speeches?! DIE!!" Her sword flashed out of its scabbard. Mystra and Phasma both vaulted from their perches, which fell away as Arthiel's blast sliced through the trees.

"Phasmic Falcon Fly!" screamed Phasma, throwing out her arms as she arced through the air. For a brief moment the form of a giant bird of prey surrounded the teen, then it shot forward striking at Arthiel. The Angel stood for a second, then folded her wings and dropped under the attack.

Meanwhile Mystra dropped to the ground next to the fountain. "Now shall we see which of us understands the mysteries better."

"Challenge me if you dare warrior, none may defeat me in my element," hissed the water angel, gathering up the water around her.

Mystra grinned. "Then we'll hare to do something about that." She threw out her hand. "LUNA TIDES!" The waters of the fountain sank once more then surged up into the sky, raining down across the park

As Arthiel dropped to her feet Tuxedo Mask charged forward, his cane flashing out into his hand. White wood met shinning metal as the two engaged. Arthiel swung her broadsword, but her opponent ducked under the blade and struck out, his cane bouncing off her hip plate.

"Not much use, are you cape boy?" Arthiel sneered.

"Ah, but I have friends."

A pair of hands reached round and clapped over the angels eyes. "Guess who!" Phasma cried. Reflexively Arthiel dropped her sword and raised her hands to pry off the hands. Seizing the moment Tuxedo Mask stabbed his cane at the Angel's throat. Phasma leapt away as Arthiel staggered, clutching her neck and coughing.

Next to the fountain the Water angel had taken to swinging at Mystra. "Hold still will you!" she steamed. "Your water tricks can't affect me anymore."

Mystra smiled as she saw a grey shape slip from the trees. "No thanks, I think I'll let my friends deal with you." She jumped backwards into the air and vanished in the blink of an eye. The water Angel stared in confusion for a few seconds.

"Feel the wrath of the stars," Astra hissed, shadows gathering unnaturally about her. "Solar FLARE!" All darkness in the park vanished as a column of light slammed down from the sun.

"Nnnoooo!!!" the water Angel cried as its body evaporated.

Astra turned to see Arthiel recovering and jumping once more into the air. Tuxedo Mask and Phasma both stood ready to attack her again.

"Where oh where are the rest of your friends," Arthiel sneered. "I guess the rumours we heard are true, the Sailor Scouts are truly gone. Fare thee well, cause when we next meet you will fall beneath our righteous might!" The air around the Angel sparkled for a moment before she vanished.

"And she accuses us of making speeches," Phasma muttered as Astra joined them.

"D-- Tuxedo Mask," Astra started, "I came looking for you. Our friend has waken up and wants to meet us at my place."

Tuxedo Mask glanced at Phasma. "Okay, ah shouldn't she come along."

"Huh?" Phasma turned and looked at the pair. "Oh no, don't worry, I was on my way somewhere. See you later!" See hurried off, vanishing into the trees.

*****

"About time you two showed up," Raye snapped over the squealing hinges as Katsuko pushed open the church's front door.

"Must fix that," Katsuko commented, leading Raye, Darien and the two cats inside. "Sorry Raye, we had some trouble in the park." She crossed the floor and flopped into a chair. "Gods I'm tired."

"Trouble, what kind of trouble?" Artemis asked jumping onto her lap.

"Angels," she sighed. "Testing us to see if the news reports were true."

"Which suggests that they aren't responsible," the cat mused.

"That's not important," Darien exclaimed. "Raye, where's Serena?!"

"How would I know?!" Raye demanded. "I don't even know what's happening, Luna's been refusing to tell me anything!"

"Calm down, both of you." Katsuko snapped. "Raye, why don't you start with what happened the other night."

Raye glared at Darien for a second, then paused to collect her thoughts. "The night out had been Mina's idea. We planned to just swing down to the mall and hit the shops. Serena managed to convince me to join in, you know how she is." Raye smiled faintly.

"When we reached the shopping district I spotted a new clothing store. It was strange, the others hadn't wanted to go in, they decided to wait outside. I must have lost track of time, because the next thing I know I hear the crack of Jupiter's thunder.

"I quickly found a place to change, then hurried towards the battle. When I arrived they were still fighting some giant monster. It didn't look like an Angle or Demon, more like some of the creatures the Negaverse sent after us.

"Mercury was down, it looked like she'd taken a blow from the monster, and Venus was quickly checking on her. Jupiter was busy trying to get in position for another attack. Sailor Moon was being her usual clumsy self, wailing as the monster took time out from sparring with Jupiter to keep her busy.

"Anyway, I shot off a Celestial Fire from a distance. It wasn't enough to damage the thing, but I did distract it long enough for Sailor Jupiter to release a Thunder Clap. The thing, whatever it was, was knocked down, and Jupiter yelled at Sailor Moon, who pulled out the sceptre and dispatched the thing. Next thing I remember I'm waking up from a strange dream about being Amy."

"Which brings us up to now," Luna added.

Katsuko frowned. "I'm afraid it wasn't a dream. While the men folk were out scouring the city, I was chasing some more official channels. What I discovered is perhaps more shocking. There was evidence of a Rei Hino, an A+ student, who went missing three days ago. Stranger was the description, she was almost an exact duplicate for our Raye."

Artemis frowned. "So someone found a girl who resembles Raye, had a similar name, and planned to put her in her place."

"Sounds like too much of a coincidence to me," Darien commented.

Katsuko nodded. "That's what I thought, so I just did some checking before you all came round. All the evidence of the fake Rei has vanished, including the report of her disappearance. In fact my contact at the police department didn't remember giving me the information in the first place."

"That's powerful magic," Luna gasped. "Someone is going to great lengths to cover their tracks."

Katsuko shrugged. "It certainly kills all our leads."

"But it does leave us with a hope of finding the other scouts."

"I've started a search for people of similar names, things like Amy with an eye, Mina with two ens or Lita with an ee, but I'm not holding out much hope."

Darien smiled. "One thing I've learnt since becoming involved with Serena is never to give up hope."

Raye sorted. "Yeah, she'll probably come knocking at the door selling cookies or something."

As if on cue, the booming of the door knocker echoed once more through the building. All five presents froze and turned to stare.

"Oh, if that's her this is too much!"

Katsuko gave Raye a withering look and swept across the room to the door. Again the hinges shrieked as the door swung open. "Namoyi! What a pleasant surprise."

The teenager at the door smiled wanly at the woman. Katsuko noticed immediately she wasn't her normally perky self. Dark bags hung under her eyes and she walked with a slump.

"Hi Katsuko, I need to talk to you." Her voice was a tired whisper.

"What's the matter? You look terrible."

"I haven't been sleeping well since the last couple of nights."

Katsuko frowned. "Why not?"

Namoyi shook her head, trying to clear it. "I've been having these strange dreams."

Katsuko reached out and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Why don't you come in and talk about it?"

"Thanks."

Katsuko lead the girl into the house. "Oh, you know Darien of course." Darien smiled at her as Katsuko did the introductions. "And this is Raye, a good friend, she's a Miko at Cherry Hill temple."

Namoyi stared at her for a few seconds. "Oh, of course, you were chasing that boy, yelling at him."

Raye blushed as Darien chuckled. "Chad been singing again?"

The black haired girl glared at Darien before turning to Namoyi. "You said you were having bad dreams, why don't you tell them to me, maybe I can help."

Namoyi nodded. "It's really strange, it starts off in this crystal city. Everything's beautiful, sunny, then the sky darkens. Suddenly I'm somewhere else, its a beautiful palace and the earth is hanging in the sky. Finally I'm standing in front of this huge horrifying castle. I go inside and wake up screaming. The strangest thing is that each scene was something I drew before I started having these dreams."

Raye glanced at Darien, a frown on her face. "And how often do you have these dreams?"

"Almost as often as I close my eyes, but today it actually hit me while I was shopping at the mall, and when I woke up I was in the park. That's why I came up here."

The group fell into silence for a few seconds before Luna mewed and brushed up against Katsuko's legs. Katsuko scooped up the cat. "Excuse me, I think Luna here wants to be fed." The others nodded thoughtfully as Katsuko strode away.

"Okay Luna, what is it?" Katsuko hissed.

"She's one of the warriors, isn't she."

Katsuko nodded. "I think that's a strong possibility."


End file.
